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Nephelium longana

Nephelium longana

9.9
A tropical tree that produces sweet longan fruit like a small lychee
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Nephelium longana
  • The fruit of Nephelium longana is popular in Asian desserts for its translucent flesh and sweet flavor.

Examples

  • The Nephelium longana tree produces delicious fruit.

  • The botanical garden displays several tropical species, including Nephelium longana, for educational purposes.

  • Farmers have started cultivating Nephelium longana commercially in new regions due to high demand.

  • Have you ever tasted Nephelium longana?

  • The fruit of Nephelium longana is popular in Asian desserts for its translucent flesh and sweet flavor.

  • Farmers have started cultivating Nephelium longana commercially in new regions due to high demand.

  • The botanical garden displays several tropical species, including Nephelium longana, for educational purposes.

Synonyms

longan
vsNephelium longana
  • Australian
9.4

A small sweet fruit like a lychee that grows on a tropical tree

is the scientific name rather than the everyday term
longanberry
vsNephelium longana
  • Australian
9.9

A tropical tree that grows sweet fruit like a lychee

is the scientific name rather than this informal name
Dimocarpus longan
vsNephelium longana
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical tree that produces small sweet fruit like lychee

is the scientific label used in this description rather than that alternative
dragon's eye
vsNephelium longana
8.4

A small sweet Asian fruit like a lychee with clear flesh also called longan

refers to the whole tree rather than primarily the fruit

Surface Forms

Morphology

Nephelium + longana

This is a scientific Latin binomial (genus + species) rather than a compositional English phrase; knowing 'Nephelium' (a tropical tree genus) and an unfamiliar element 'longana' does not allow a B1 learner to infer the specific reference to the longan fruit. Understanding this lexicalized taxonomic name requires specialized botanical or encyclopedic knowledge rather than simple composition of constituent meanings.

Etymology

Nephelium longana may come from two simple pictures: Nephelium from a word meaning 'cloud', because the round fruits grow in bunches like little clouds, and longana from an Asian name meaning 'dragon eye', because when you peel the shell the white flesh around the dark seed looks like an 'eye'. That's why this scientific name points to the tropical tree grown for the sweet longan fruit.