rambutan

The Malay word rambutan derives directly from rambut, the common Malay word for hair — human hair, animal fur, or any filament resembling hair. The suffix -an in Malay creates a noun meaning 'the thing characterized by' the root quality: rambutan is literally 'the hairy thing' or 'the thing with hair.' The name is entirely descriptive and accurate. The rambutan fruit (Nephelium lappaceum) is an oval drupe about the size of a golf ball, covered in soft, fleshy spines two to four centimeters long that are red when ripe (some varieties are yellow or orange). The spines are not sharp — they are rubbery and flexible — and their Malay name rambut captures their resemblance to a head of disheveled hair. The fruit beneath the spiny skin is closely related to the lychee and the longan: a translucent, sweet-acid flesh surrounding a single seed, intensely aromatic and highly prized throughout Southeast Asia.