2. Dimocarpus longan Loureiro SAPINDACEAE

Longyen, longan; Bengali: ashphal, आशफल

A small tree related to the lychee and native of South and South-East Asia. It is cultivated for its timber and, especially, for its edible fruit. The wood is tough and used for making shuttle pipes, bearings, textile-weaving stands and rifle butts, and sometimes for furniture and construction purposes. The seeds contain the chemical saponin and can be used as a soap substitute.

Hand coloured stipple engraving after drawing by William Hooker, from Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London 2: t. 28, 1822