They do, though I think Mango are even prettier. Here is a new seedling I started about a month ago. The new growth is strikingly red. You can also see a few longon leaves in the bottom right of the pic.
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how do you like longans by the way? To me they have the mildest flavor among the rambutan family, but are at least as addictive as rambutan and lychees. Could eat longans by the buckets-- like popcorn
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I like them a lot. I think that the best lychees may be a bit better than the best Longan, but I think the average is better for longan. And today’s fruit raised the bar almost to the best of lychees. I’ve only had rambutan a few times and thought that they were good, but prefer both lychee and longan to them. I don’t like how careful I need to be eating around the pit of the rambutan- it breaks way too easily. I’m not sure if it is harmful, but it is at least an unpleasant texture.
tropicana nursery in connecticut, nice! And quite impressed how you’ve persevered with your 5’ mango. Since you’re already at it, you might want to graft with stems from mature trees. Mangos grown from seed may take five years or longer to bear fruits. Grafting mature stems cuts the wait time drastically, and may even be fruitful on same year of grafting.
longans and lychees take much longer from seed. Some stubborn lychees may take 20 years if grown from seed, ouch! There are anecdotal accounts of 50 years’ wait-time, which am not doubting.
even grafting over with budwood from old trees could still take a decade sometimes.
but lychees are more tolerant of cold than mangoes , so may still be worth a shot, or ‘just for kicks’
it is obvious you have tried a lot of longans and lychees.
commercially produced longans don’t have much variances. Am sure there are other longan cultivars, but they are not as mass-propagated as the various cultivars of lychees, which come in many flavors and characteristics.
the fibrous coat around the rambutan pit is edible, and may be ‘cling’ or ‘freestone’. The freestone is easier to eat, since you won’t end up with fibers stuck in your front teeth, much like what happens when nibbling around peach pits.The cling ones may require a great deal of oral maneuvers that you’d often end up biting through the edible fibrous coat of the seed, and the seed itself is somewhat bitter.
longans and lychees are generally freestone, and if you look closely, the edible pulp(or aril) also has an edible fibrous coat which separates easily from the pit, but are generally smoother and thinner than the somewhat coarse and chewy coating around rambutan pits
Since I have eaten these rambutans, lychees and longans by the tons, I would like to share my two cents here.
Of the three, I like rambutans the least. The fibrous coat around the seeds do not bother me. It maybe the texture of the flesh. It has a rougher texture than the other two. It is sweet but not as sweet as longans.
Longans is the sweetest among the three. Quality varies depending on the varieties. The most popular one, and the most expensive has pale pink tint on the flesh, sweet, juicy and meaty. Bad longans are those with big seeds and little meat. Opposite to Juju, I think shiny longans seeds look like eyes watching me. A bit creepy at times ( maybe, I read too many Stephen King’s books). Longans are so swwet that eating too much of them sometimes causes me to have a sore throat.
Many people, including I love dry longans. We put them in hot water to rehydrate them, let the water cool down, add ice, it becomes an aromatic drink with pieces of longans as a plus. Some add sugar but I don’t.
Lychees, my favorite. I am partial because I like a good balance of sweet and sour, not just very sweet like longans. Good lychees have a balance of the two tastes. Not good ones are too sour. The fresh is very soft. If not careful, juice can easily squirt out all over you. Some people may not like its very soft texture.
In Thailand, among the three, lychees are more expensive and rambutans are the cheapest based on demands and supplies.
stephen king’s books make me smile too. Find it amusing how imaginatively he weaves the plots and scenarios.
they better be, rambutans have ‘big-hair’ and thicker skin. So you actually pay more based on weight. But i agree, lychees are the most fragrant, the pleasant floral scents stir my senses even before i pop them in my mouth
