Rambutan

I could have told you that this photo is taken from a tree in my backyard, and you would have believed me. But that is not the case at all. This is a photo of a wall calendar from a Miami fruit distributor that I visit quite often to buy fresh fruit. They do sell this fruit here, but it is so expensive... and they are not picked with their branches intact so the fruits tend to rot rather quickly and may be full of bugs The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum,) is a tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and that is also the name of the fruit the size of a hen's small egg of this tree. It is native to Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan, and Mamoncillo. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian, Filipino and Malay literally means hairy, undoubtedly due to the 'hair' that covers this fruit. In Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino. I used to love this fruit as a kid, but not anymore. The last time I bought a kilogram of this, I only ate 2 fruits. They are kind of bland without much flavor.