2 വർഷം കൊണ്ട് കായ്ക്കുന്ന വിദേശപഴം ലോങ്കൻ Longan Fruit

 

2 വർഷം കൊണ്ട് കായ്ക്കുന്ന വിദേശപഴം ലോങ്കൻ Longan Fruit

 

ലോങ്കൻ (Longan), Dimocarpus longan എന്ന ശാസ്ത്രീയ നാമത്തിൽ അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന ഒരു ഉഷ്ണമേഖലാ പഴമാണ്. ഇതിനെ സാധാരണയായി "ഡ്രാഗൺ ഐ" (Dragon's Eye) എന്ന് വിളിപ്പേരുണ്ട്, കാരണം പഴത്തിൻ്റെ അർദ്ധസുതാര്യമായ വെളുത്ത മാംസവും അതിനുള്ളിലെ ഇരുണ്ട കുരുവും ചേർന്ന് ഒരു കണ്ണ് പോലെ തോന്നിക്കുന്നു. Dimocarpus longan, commonly known as the longan (/ˈlɒŋɑːn/) and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambutan also belong.[3] The fruit of the longan is similar to that of the lychee, but is less aromatic in tast.

The longan (from Vietnamese long nhãn or Cantonese lùhng ngáahn 龍眼, literally 'dragon eye'), is so named because the black seed within the shelled fruit creates the appearance of an eyeball. The plant is native to tropical Asia and China.The longan is believed to originate from the mountain range between Myanmar and southern China. Other reported origins include Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, upper Myanmar, north Thailand, Kampuchea (more commonly known as Cambodia), north Vietnam and New Guinea.Its earliest record of existence draws back to the Han dynasty in 200 BCE. The emperor had demanded lychee and longan trees to be planted in his palace gardens in Shaanxi, but the plants failed. Four hundred years later, longan trees flourished in other parts of China like Fujian and Guangdong, where longan production soon became an industry.Later on, due to immigration and the growing demand for nostalgic foods, the longan tree was officially introduced to Australia in the mid-1800s, Thailand in the late-1800s, and Hawaii and Florida in the 1900s. The warm, sandy-soiled conditions allowed for the easy growth of longan trees. This jump-started the longan industry in these locations

Despite its long success in China, the longan is considered to be a relatively new fruit to the world. It has only been acknowledged outside of China in the last 250 years] The first European acknowledgment of the fruit was recorded by João de Loureiro, a Portuguese Jesuit botanist, in 1790. The first entry resides in his collection of works, Flora Cochinchinensis.

                                            പ്രൊഫ്, ജോൺ കുരാക്കാർ