Rambutan from its seed. The fruit taste and size of these two cultivars are identical, but the 'Maharlika Rambutan' is more popular with a higher price. Rambutan fruit contains diverse nutrients but in modest amounts, with only manganese having moderate content at 16 percent of the Daily Value per 100 g consumed (right table; note data are for canned fruit in syrup, not as raw which may have different nutrient contents). As an unpigmented fruit flesh, rambutan does not contain significant polyphenol content, but its colorful rind displays diverse phenolic acids, such as syringic, coumaric, gallic, caffeic, and ellagic acids having
Rambutan tropical Americas, planted in the coastal lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad, and Cuba. In 1912, rambutan was introduced to the Philippines from Indonesia. Further introductions were made in 1920 (from Indonesia) and 1930 (from Malaya), but until the 1950s its distribution was limited. There was an attempt to introduce rambutan to the southeastern United States, with seeds imported from Java in 1906, but the species proved to be unsuccessful, except in Puerto Rico. It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 12–20 m. The leaves are alternate, 10–30 cm long, pinnate, with three to 11