Editing Rambutan (section)

== Description ==
It is an [[evergreen]] tree growing to a height of {{cvt|15|–|24|m|0}}.<ref name="rambutan" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grant |first=Amy |date=19 April 2021 |title=Rambutan Growing Tips: Learn About Rambutan Tree Care |url=https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/rambutan/rambutan-growing-tips.htm |access-date=22 July 2022 |publisher=Gardening Know How}}</ref> The leaves are alternate, {{cvt|14|–|30|cm|0}} long, [[Pinnation|pinnate]], with three to eleven leaflets, each leaflet {{cvt|5|–|15|cm|0}} wide and {{cvt|3|–|10|cm}} broad with an entire margin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Suganthi |first=A |date=July 2016 |title=Nephelium Lappaceum (L.): An overview |url=https://www.pharmacyjournal.net/archives/2016/vol1/issue5/1-6-11 |journal=International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Research |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=36 |via=Google Scholar}}</ref>

The flowers are small, {{cvt|2.5|–|5|mm|1}}, [[wikt:apetalous|apetalous]], [[wikt:discoidal|discoidal]], and borne in erect terminal [[panicle]]s {{cvt|15|–|30|cm|0}} wide.<ref name="rambutan" /> Rambutan trees can be male (producing only [[wikt:staminate|staminate]] flowers and, hence, produce no fruit), female (producing flowers that are only functionally female), or [[hermaphroditic]] (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers).{{cn|date=August 2024}}

=== Fruit ===
The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded [[drupe]], {{cvt|3|–|6|cm|frac=4}} long, rarely to {{cvt|8|cm|frac=4}} long and {{cvt|3|–|4|cm|frac=4}} broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of ten to twenty fruits together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow) and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name, which means 'hairs'. The spines (also known as "spinterns") contribute to the [[transpiration]] of the fruit, which can affect the fruit's quality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arévalo Galarza |first1=M.L. |last2=Caballero Pérez |first2=J.F. |last3=Valdovinos Ponce |first3=G. |last4=Cadena Íñiguez |first4=J. |last5=Avendaño Arrazate |first5=C.H. |date=March 2018 |title=Growth and histological development of the fruit pericarp in rambutan (''Nephelium lappaceum'' Linn.) |journal=Acta Horticulturae |issue=1194 |pages=165–172 |doi=10.17660/actahortic.2018.1194.25 |issn=0567-7572}}</ref>

The fruit flesh, the [[aril]], is translucent, whitish, or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor reminiscent of [[grape]]s.<ref name="rambutan" />

The single seed is glossy brown, {{cvt|1|–|1.3|cm|frac=8}}, with a white [[wikt:basal|basal]] scar.<ref name="rambutan" /> Soft and containing equal portions of [[saturated fat|saturated]] and [[unsaturated fats]], the seed may be cooked and eaten, but is bitter and has [[narcotic]] properties.<ref name="Tindall1994" />{{rp|14}}<ref name=manaf/>