Wood Apple 1.5-2.0m

The Longan, also called the "Wood Apple The Sweet Dragon's Eye," is a small, sweet, and juicy tropical fruit closely related to the lychee (Litchi chinensis). It is highly valued for its unique flavor, nutritional benefits, and adaptability to various culinary uses. Native to Southeast Asia, the longan has become a favorite fruit in many tropical and subtropical regions.

Plant

Wood Apple tree is deciduous, thorny and small to medium sized which grows from 6 to 15 meters high having shallowly furrowed and grey bark. Spines are short, axillary and straight. The young branchlets as well as foliage are covered with short hairs which turns glabrous with age. Leaves are alternate and imparipinnate having narrowly winged rachis. Leaflets are subsessile and arranged oppositely with obovate and 25 to 35 mm long by 10 to 20 mm wide lamina. Flowers have small, flat, deltoid, caduceus and dentate calyx. Petals are oblong to ovate to lanceolate which imbricate in bud having short and finely pilose disk. Fruits are large berry in globose shape measuring 7 to 10 cm in diameter having hard and woody shell. Fruits have sticky brown and edible pulp with compressed, oblong and white seeds.

Bark

The tree has grayish or pale brown bark which is smooth, flaking or finely fissured. The bark contains slimy sap which oozes out from cut parts. Gum is a gummy and clear sap that exudes from wounded branches. The gum becomes solid gradually which tastes sweet at first and then irritates to the throat.

Leaves

The bael fruit has alternate and trifoliate leaves. Each leaflet is ovate with pointed or tapering tip and rounded base. Leaflets measures 5 to 14 x 2 to 6 cm. Young leaves are pinkish or pale green and is finely hairy. Mature leaves are smooth and dark green. Each leaf contains 4 to 12 pairs of side veins joined at margin.

Flower

Flowers are bisexual, sweetly scented and is pale green or yellowish in color. Flowers measures 1.5 to 2 cm which is short drooping in unbranched clusters. It has flat calyx with 4 to 5 small teeth. Petals are 6 to 8 mm which overlaps in bud. Stamens have short filaments and pale brown or short style anthers. A bright green ovary have inconspicuous disc.

Fruit

Fruit is globose or slightly pear shaped with diameter of 7 to 10 cm. It has thick and hard rind which does not split on ripening. Shell is woody, smooth, gray, green which turns yellow on ripening. Pulp is orange, aromatic with flattened to oblong seeds measuring 1 cm long which bears woolly hairs. Wood Apple The Sweet Dragon's Eye requires 11 months to ripen on tree. As the shell is so hard, it should be cracked with machete or hammer.