It's been marketed as the Brazilian Longan in town. But it is actually the Fijian Longan, purportedly to originate from Papua New Guinea.
I've never eaten the fruit before ... but at home, we had a bagful which was planted by Uncle at his orchard.
The fruits were actually dark brown in colour, the size of a small chicken egg.
To eat, make a crack in the shell and peel it right off.
Inside the fruits
The flesh were slightly yellowish in colour .. they looked slightly fibrous but in fact, the flesh was soft and chewy, very thick, juicy and sweet. They tasted somewhat like the normal longans, not as sweet and crunchy, though. I also found them to be a bit pungent. Smells like durian, I told Mom, but she waved me off.
I totally enjoyed my first encounter with these fruits, especially when they were eaten cold.
thanks for sharing, havent seen it before. cheers!
ReplyDeleteyou are welcome :))
ReplyDeleteIn Papua New Guinea, it is called "Tong". The skin is not purplish but greenish. The flesh is thick, and dry compared to our longans. I love it but can't find it in Port Moresby. I was told they come from Manus Island.
ReplyDeleteThese are abundant all over New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. The other provinces like Manus and Sepik have a slightly different ones with harder shells. The ones from New Ireland however have a very soft peel and much bigger in size. There are more purple ones are more abundant than green. And the trees can grow to a height of 7-10 meters. I would like to think the the Longan type from Manus and Sepik are an evolutionary branch to the soft peels as Manus and located more closer to the equator with more harsher heat waves than NIP.
ReplyDeletedear friend,
ReplyDeleteI am from jakarta, and very interrected in the purple longan you have.
I would like to purchase some if possible.
pls kindly contact me via my email yustiawan@hepind.com
Dear inid2tell ,
ReplyDeleteI am currently developing an Encyclopedia of Fruits of the World.
I would like to use your photo of the Pometia pinnata (matoa):
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HKkw6k1eMDo/UfyWpSyaIXI/AAAAAAAAOdg/IQMHQEgKEe0/s1600/1de213b8fbfe11e287c922000aeb0d21_7.jpg
Please, let me know if this is OK for you. The author of the photo will be credited.
You may take a look to a preliminary project for iPad/iphone that I have developed at:
http://doctorcastello.com/fruits/
And the video of the App:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdnD6eLqUxo&feature=player_embedded
However, this will be a printed/pdf book and will include much more references.
Best regards,
Dr Jose R Castello
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This is an ongoing General Reference educational project which will include more than 400 different type of edible fruits. Each photo in the project will be credited with the full name of the photographer (and website if desired). The location in which the photo was taken will be also included. It will be also clearly stated that the copyright of the photos will be retained by their original authors. This is a personal project which I am developing in my spare time, with no editorial support of any kind.
Jose R Castello, MD PhD
info@doctorcastello.com
This fruit is very new to me but I like it after tasted the fruit, we are keeping the seeds to plant them hopefully they will grow and produce fruits.
ReplyDelete