FoI
Star Fruit
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Star Fruit
ntroduced Photo: Anne Thingnam
Common name: Carambola, Star fruit • Hindi: Karmal करमल • Kannada: ಕಮರಾಕ್ಷಿ Kamaraakshi, ಕಮರಕ, ಕಮರಕ್ Kamarak, ಕಮರಿಕೆ Kamarike, ದಾರೆಹುಳಿ Daarehuli, ಧಾರೆಹುಳಿ Dhaarehuli • Manipuri: ꯍꯩꯅꯧꯖꯣꯝ Heinoujom • Malayalam: Caturappuli • Tamil: Tamarattai • Mizo: Thei-her-awt • Urdu: ﻛﻤﺮﺥ Kamrakh
Botanical name: Averrhoa carambola    Family: Oxalidaceae (wood sorrel family)

A slow growing small tropical tree, no more than 25 feet tall, originally from Southeast Asia (Indonesia) The green leaflets are sensitive to light and fold inward at night. It has small, pink colored flowers with a dark-red heart. The carambola plant will flower and fruit four times yearly. This tropical fruit, fleshy five lobbed, ovate to elliptoid, is attractive yellow-orange and pleasantly aromatic! The tree flowers and bears fruit almost year-round. When sliced in cross section a perfect star is formed. Carambola is eaten fresh or in fruit salads. The carambola tree seems to be used for bonsai.

Identification credit: Susmita Basu Photographed in Manipur.

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