pulasan tree

9.9

A tropical tree that grows sweet fruit like rambutan

noun

Philippine

: árbol de pulasan

Many farmers prefer the pulasan tree because its fruit tastes sweeter than rambutan.

Examples

The pulasan tree thrives in the humid lowlands of Malaysia and Indonesia.
A mature pulasan tree can yield hundreds of fruits each season.
The pulasan tree is native to Southeast Asia.
Many farmers cultivate the pulasan tree for its sweet fruit.
A mature pulasan tree can yield hundreds of fruits each season.
Many farmers prefer the pulasan tree because its fruit tastes sweeter than rambutan.
The pulasan tree thrives in the humid lowlands of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Synonyms

Nephelium mutabile

vspulasan tree

Specialized

9.9

A Southeast Asian tree that makes a sweet fruit like a rambutan

is the everyday common name rather than a formal botanical label

pulassan

vspulasan tree

Philippine

9.9

A tropical tree that makes a sweet fruit like a rambutan

is the standard name rather than the alternate written form

pulasan

vspulasan tree

Philippine

9.9

A tropical tree that grows sweet red fruit like a rambutan

focuses on the sweeter taste rather than physical colour or rind

Surface Forms

pulasan tree singular

pulasan trees plural

Morphology

pulasan + tree

The meaning is directly compositional: 'pulasan' denotes a particular fruit/tree species and 'tree' specifies it is a tree, so a learner who knows both words can deduce it refers to the pulasan plant. This noun+noun species-labeling pattern is common cross-linguistically, making the phrase immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Pulasan tree comes from a Malay word 'pulas' meaning 'to twist'. People open the fruit by twisting and pulling the skin, so the word for 'twist' became the name of the tree and its fruit.