Averrhoa carambola Averrhoa carambola Averrhoa carambola is a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae; it has a number of common names, including carambola and star fruit. This evergreen tree is native to Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. "A. carambola" is a small tree or shrub that grows 5–12 metres tall, with rose to red-purple flowers. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The flowers are often produced year round under tropical conditions. The tree is cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions for its edible fruits and for its medicinal uses. Botanically pericarp is the
Common name languages; the word for "cat", for instance, is easily recognizable in most Germanic and many Romance languages. Many vernacular names, however, are restricted to a single country and colloquial names to local districts. Common names are used in the writings of both professionals and laymen. Lay people sometimes object to the use of scientific names over common names, but the use of scientific names can be defended, as it is in these remarks from a book on marine fish: In scientific binomial nomenclature, names commonly are derived from classical or modern Latin or Greek or Latinised forms of vernacular words