In the recent past, this fruit has spread to other humid tropical regions of the world including India.
As the names suggest (the Malay word ‘rambut’ meaning hair), the fruit is glabrous, resembling a burr.
Fruit are borne in panicles that generally project clear of the foliage, and hang down as they approach maturity.
Color development of the fruit is related to light quality and intensity since the red color of the skin is mainly dependent on anthocyanin production.
Rambutan fruit skin is fleshy, crisp and pliable, rather than leathery, and has numerous prominent spinterns that are red or yellow on mature fruit.
Upon maturity, the skin of each of these fruits separates easily from fleshy aril that surrounds a single seed.
The fruits are consumed fresh, or canned. The canning industry has boosted the cultivation of rambutan in its native range with Thailand as the largest producer.
Fruit of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)
