longan

American  

[long-guhn] / ˈlɒŋ gən /

noun

1. the small, one-seeded, greenish-brown fruit of a large evergreen tree, Euphoria longana, of the soapberry family, native to China and allied to the litchi.

2. the tree itself.

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longan British  

/ ˈlɒŋɡən /

noun

1. a sapindaceous tree, Euphoria longan, of tropical and subtropical Asia, with small yellowish-white flowers and small edible fruits

2. the fruit of this tree, which is similar to but smaller than the litchi, having white juicy pulp and a single seed

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Etymology

Origin of longan

1725–35; < New Latin longanum < Chinese lóngyǎn literally, dragon's eye

Example Sentences

Menus change seasonally here, but the current menu, Fight Club, highlights Indonesian ingredients like passionfruit with coconut and sago, and rosella with longan.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025

We’d snack on lychee or longan on the drives back until we had to throw away the fruit seeds before returning to the U.S.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2023

The bargain buyers drifted out of a popular Little Saigon fruit shop with tote bags full of pale brown longan and hairy red rambutan, barely glancing at the dirt-smeared face of Duc Tran.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2022

He said Vietnam expects to begin exporting longan to Japan in September, followed by other produce such as grapefruit, avocado and rambutan, while opening its market for Japanese grapes.

From Reuters • May 1, 2022

Of these fruits the litchi, whampee, averoha, longan, vi-apple, and Chinese mangosteen are practically confined to the North.

From Fruits of Queensland by Benson, Albert H.