Longan
Also called Lungan · Dragon's eyeDimocarpus longan · Sapindaceae family
Compare the translucent fresh fruit with the darker, chewier flavor of dried longan.
Find it near DetroitGet to know it
Longan is a small, tan-shelled relative of the lychee with translucent flesh that tastes sweet and faintly musky. The pale flesh slips cleanly off a shiny seed. Dried longan is a different mouthful: dark, chewy and smoky, ready for a sweet soup or an iced drink.
What it is
The round or oval fruit measures 2.2–3.6 cm (about ¾–1½ in) across. Its thin, leathery shell is smoother than a lychee’s. Underneath is a ring of whitish, translucent flesh around one hard seed; the shell and seed come off before eating.
Fresh and dried longan differ in texture as well as flavour. Drying turns the pale flesh dark and leathery; the chewy pieces are used to flavour drinks.
Where it comes from
Longan is native to a band of tropical Asia: southern China, Myanmar, the Indochinese peninsula, southwest India and Sri Lanka. It is grown in China, Thailand and Vietnam, and in the United States in Hawaii, California and south Florida.
Trees from southern China arrived in Florida in 1903. Kohala, a variety with sweet, aromatic flesh and a spicy note, came from Hawaii to Florida in 1954.
How it's eaten where it grows
In Vietnam, chè hạt sen long nhãn pairs soft, powdery lotus seeds with dried longan in a sweet soup. Jasmine flowers can perfume the broth, which is served warm or cold.
Thailand’s nam lamyai is a longan drink served over ice at food markets. It can use fresh, canned or dried fruit. With dried longan, the flesh simmers in sweetened water until the drink turns golden.
How it's grown
The evergreen tree grows about 9–12 m (30–40 ft) tall in south Florida. Cool, dry winters help it flower, followed by warm springs and hot summers for fruit development. A tree grown from seed can take up to six years to bear.
Harvesters cut off whole clusters. The fruit is already ripe when picked: leaving a longan on the kitchen counter will not make it sweeter.
When and where you'll find it
South Florida’s harvest usually runs from mid-July to early September, with most fruit in August. Kohala usually ripens from mid-July through August. Florida fruit is eaten fresh or frozen for later.
Asian groceries are a place to find dried longan. Canned longan comes cooked in syrup, while dried flesh is ready for drinks and sweet soups. These are different forms of the same fruit, with different textures.
Get it near Detroit
What it tastes like
As mild as a banana, as sweet as a peach≈
More about the taste
Fresh longan has sweet, translucent flesh that separates easily from its thin shell and hard seed. Dried, the flesh turns darker and leathery, with a smoky character.
The flesh is sweet and translucent, separating cleanly from the shell and hard seed.
Dried longan flesh is dark, leathery and smoky in flavor, and is used in drinks.
Choose, ripen, store, eat
1ChooseSound fruit
Look for
- Sound fruit
- No insect damage
Ignore
- Ripe appearance
Choose sound fruit without insect damage or blemishes. Ripe appearance varies by variety.
2RipenDoesn’t ripen after picking
Doesn’t ripen after pickingLongan is harvested ripe and does not continue to ripen afterward — immature fruit stays bland even after waiting.
3StoreFridge, fresh
- FridgeFresh
Keep fresh longan refrigerated and use it soon — it deteriorates quickly in warm conditions. Dried longan is a separate product with its own shelf life.
4EatTranslucent flesh · not thin shell, large hard seed
Eat
Translucent fleshNot eaten
Thin shellLarge hard seedRemove the thin shell and the large hard seed, and eat the translucent flesh. Dried flesh can be used in drinks and sweet soups.
Detroit, Michigan
When it’s good hereUsual monthsJust arrivedAt their bestLast chanceAll yearWhere it is in its usual monthsToday, Oct 22Grown hereIn season in your stateShips fromIn season where it growsOrderableListed by a seller we checkedThe day a seller was checked
18 growing areas, 6 countriesUsual monthsOur estimated monthsToday, Oct 22
- California
- Chanthaburi
- Chiang Mai
- East Java
- Florida
- Fujian
- Hawaii
- Johor
- Lamphun
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Penang
- South Florida
- Yogyakarta
- You
3 of 9 areas · October
Growing areas by country
- United States5
- Australia3
- China3
- Thailand3
- Indonesia2
- Malaysia2
and 1 more country
Longan is sold fresh, canned and dried, with canning common in Thailand, China and Taiwan.
26 varieties
- No variety photo yet宝石1号
- Taste
- high
- Flavour
- 味甜
- No variety photo yet翠香
- Taste
- high
- Scent
- 香气浓郁
- Flesh
- white · yellow
- Use
- fresh
- No variety photo yetPHS2
- Bite
- crisp Vietnam
- Skin
- brown Vietnam
- Flesh
- white Vietnam
- Shape
- round Vietnam
- No variety photo yet醇香
- Taste
- high
- Scent
- 有香气
- Bite
- crisp
- Flesh
- white · yellow
- No variety photo yetChuliang
- Taste
- high
- Flavour
- fragrant flavour
- Feel
- firm
- No variety photo yet冬宝9号
- Bite
- crisp
- Skin
- pink · green
- Flesh
- white · yellow
75 names in 19 languages
- lengkengroot
Cook it
2 longan festivalsUsual monthToday, Oct 22
Strange but trueHistoryScienceNatureWhere the name came fromCustoms and culturePeople
If you like Longan
Tastes alike
Same plant family
Nutrition, sources
Nutrition
Longans, raw · per 100 g
- Carbohydrate
- 15 g
- Fiber
- 1.1 g
- Protein
- 1.3 g
- Fat
- 0.1 g
- Vitamin C
- 84 mg
- Potassium
- 266 mg
Sources
Longan · Fruitopia · checked Sep 21, 2026
What we don't know yet
Retail dried longan is sold in different forms, some with the shell and seed already removed.