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prettygoodwordlongan (LONG-guhn) - n., the small, one-seeded, edible fruit of a large evergreen tree (Dimocarpus longan, of the soapberry family), native to southern China; the tree itself.
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Closely related to lychee and rambutan, but with a smoother skin, native to the mountains between what's now China and Myanmar, and cultivated in southern China since the Han Dynasty, as well as throughout southeast Asia. That's not the best photo to show this, but the dark seed inside the pulp can be seen through the translucent flesh, making it look something like an eyeball -- which gives its the name, which we got in English from Cantonese lùhng-ngáahn (龙眼), literally dragon-eye, equivalent to Mandarin lóng yǎn, both from Middle Chinese lywŋ ŋjaːn´.
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Closely related to lychee and rambutan, but with a smoother skin, native to the mountains between what's now China and Myanmar, and cultivated in southern China since the Han Dynasty, as well as throughout southeast Asia. That's not the best photo to show this, but the dark seed inside the pulp can be seen through the translucent flesh, making it look something like an eyeball -- which gives its the name, which we got in English from Cantonese lùhng-ngáahn (龙眼), literally dragon-eye, equivalent to Mandarin lóng yǎn, both from Middle Chinese lywŋ ŋjaːn´.
---L.
