order: sapindales
family: sapindaceae
genus: dimocarpus
species: longan
In late August, I organised a barbecue in our garden next to the pond and invited some friends over. Beside satay skewers, chicken wings and wraps of radish and shrimps, I also served a tropical fruit called longan. Longan means dragon eye in chinese language. The name is given to the fruit probably because of its resemblance to an eyeball with the white translucent flesh covering the dark shiny stone. In my hometown, Kuching, the fruit is called "mata kuching" in Malay language, which is translated as "cat's eye". There are theories saying that the city got its name through this fruit, because there used to be longan trees growing on the riverbanks, along which the city is laid out. Like maple, longan belongs to the soapberry family. Other more familiar members include lychee, rambutan, and horse chestnut.
After the barbecue, I saved some of the stones to start new plants with. I planted five stones in a planter, two of which struck after a week and are currently growing healthily. Two more are struggling to develop their first leaves. Acknowledging that it's a bad time to start new plants, I'm still keeping hope that the young seedlings will make it through the long winter months.
family: sapindaceae
genus: dimocarpus
species: longan
After the barbecue, I saved some of the stones to start new plants with. I planted five stones in a planter, two of which struck after a week and are currently growing healthily. Two more are struggling to develop their first leaves. Acknowledging that it's a bad time to start new plants, I'm still keeping hope that the young seedlings will make it through the long winter months.