Dimocarpus is a genus of trees or shrubs in the flowering plant family Sapindaceae. It includes 7 species which grow naturally in tropical south and Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and Australasia, including Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, southern China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, East Timor, far north-eastern Queensland, Australia.[3]

Dimocarpus
Dimocarpus longan fruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Tribe: Nephelieae
Genus: Dimocarpus
Lour. (1790)[1][2]
Species[3]

7; see text

Synonyms[3]

Pseudonephelium Radlk. (1890)

The fruit is edible, with the longan (D. longan) being grown commercially for fruit production.

The species are large evergreen trees growing to 25–40 m tall, with pinnate leaves. The flowers are individually inconspicuous, produced in large panicles. The fruit is an oval drupe 3–5 cm long containing a single seed surrounded by a translucent crisp, juicy layer of fruit pulp and a thin but hard orange or red skin.

Species

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Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Dimocarpus australianus Leenh. Cape York Peninsula, Australia
Dimocarpus dentatus Meijer ex Leenh. Malaysia, Sabah
Dimocarpus foveolatus (Radlk.) Leenh. Philippines (Luzon, Panay, Samar)
Dimocarpus fumatus (Blume) Leenh. S and SE Asia from Sri Lanka and India to E Malesia;
D. fumatus subsp. indochinensis in China and Vietnam
Dimocarpus gardneri (Thwaites) Leenh. Sri Lanka.
  Dimocarpus longan Lour. Longan China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand
  Dimocarpus malesianus[4] Alupag Sarawak, Malesia
Dimocarpus yunnanensis (W.T.Wang) C.Y.Wu & T.L.Ming China

References

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  1. ^ Leenhouts, Pieter W. (1994). "Dimocarpus Lour.". In Adema, F.; Leenhouts, P. W.; van Welzen, P. C. (eds.). Sapindaceae. Series I, Spermatophyta : Flowering Plants. Vol. 11. Leiden, The Netherlands: Rijksherbarium / Hortus Botanicus, Leiden University. pp. 511–519. ISBN 90-71236-21-8. Retrieved 5 Dec 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Dimocarpus Lour". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  3. ^ a b c Dimocarpus Lour. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  4. ^ Lithanatudom, Suparat K.; Chaowasku, Tanawat; Nantarat, Nattawadee; Jaroenkit, Theeranuch; Smith, Duncan R.; Lithanatudom, Pathrapol (2021-03-09). "A First Phylogeny of the Genus Dimocarpus and Suggestions for Revision of Some Taxa Based on Molecular and Morphological Evidence". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 6716. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07045-7. PMC 5532229. PMID 28751754.

Further reading

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