Rambutan

rambutan Nephelium lappaceum, a fruit native to the western lowlands of Malaysia, is now cultivated in many parts of SE Asia, where it is highly popular; in Sri Lanka; and in Zanzibar, where it was introduced at an early date by Arab traders. It is closely related to the lychee.

Fruits vary in quality and type; there are crimson, greenish, and yellow or orange varieties. The inner part of the fruit is smaller than a lychee, but the outside looks larger because of the long hairs which give it its name, rambut being the Malay word for ‘hair’. It looks slightly like a sweet chestnut. The flavour is usually more acid than a lychee, but highly aromatic, and the seed has an almond-like flavour.