Starfruit

Starfruit tree

Starfruit or Carambola has a golden-yellow to green color and a slightly tart, acidic, sweet taste. When cut across the fruit shows a 5-pointed star shape, which is why the fruits got their name.

Names

Scientific
   Averrhoa carambola
English
   Carambola
   Starfruit
Dutch
   Blimbing manis
   Carambola
   Stervrucht
   Zoete blimbing
Spanish
   Carambolo
French
   Carambole
   Carambolier
German
   Karambola
   Karambole
   Sternfrucht
Italian
   Carambola

Taxonomy

Genus
   Averrhoa
Family
   Oxalidaceae
Order
   Oxalidales

Basic information and facts

Origin:

Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia

Distribution:

Southeast Asia and Malaysia, Caribbean islands, Central America, tropical South America, tropical West Africa, Zanzibar, southern China, Taiwan, India, Philippines, Australia, Tahiti, Hawaii, etc.

Evergreen or deciduous:

Deciduous

Flowers:

The fragrant flowers of star fruit have a pink color and are about 1 cm in diameter. Flowers are borne in clusters in axils of leaves on young branches, or they grow on older branches without leaves. The trees bloom several times throughout the year.

Leaves:

The leaves of star fruit are spirally arranged and 15 to 25 cm long. Leaves have 5 to 11 nearly opposite, ovate-oblong leaflets. These leaflets are 4 to 8 centimeter long. The leaves are soft, medium-green, and smooth on the upper surface. The underside is faintly hairy with a whitish color. The leaflets are sensitive to light and usually fold together at night or when the tree is disturbed.

Fruits:

Carambola fruits are ovate to ellipsoid in shape. They are 6 to 13 cm long and the fruits have 5 (sometimes 4 or 6) longitudinal ribs. The fruit has a golden-yellow to green color. When cut across it shows a 5-pointed star shape, which is why it is also called "star fruit". The crunchy fruits have a slightly tart, acidic, sweet taste. The fruit starts out with a green color. As it ripens the color turns to yellow. The fruit cab be eaten in both the green and yellow stages.

Climate and weather:

Tropical and sub-tropical climates

Height:

5 – 9 meter

Crown:

The carambola tree has a much-branched, bushy, broad, rounded crown.

Type of soil:

Carambola prefers rich loam, but also grows well on sand, heavy clay
or limestone. It cannot stand flooding and needs good drainage.

Growth rate:

Slow growing tree.

Spacing (close range)

6 meter

Spacing (wide range)

9 meter

Propagation:

Grown from seed.

Insect pests:

Star fruit can be attacked by Fruit flies, Fruit moths, and Fruit spotting bugs.

Diseases:

No major diseases

Harvesting:

Fruits fall to the ground when fully ripe. Hand pick the fruits when mature (pale green with a touch of yellow).

Uses:

Fruits are eaten fresh or are used to make juice.

Recipes

Starfruit juice

Ingredients:
40 grams slices of star fruit, 30 grams syrup, 1 gram salt(or 1/5 teaspoon), 200 ml water.

Instructions how to make the juice:
Clean and slice the star fruits, take seed off. Blend in the blender with water then pour through a sieve. Add salt and sugar in the juice as you like. When making a big amount, boil juice for 3-5 minutes before storing it in a sterilized bottle and then keep it in the refrigerator.

Crop categories

Fruits
Food crops
Tropical crops

Pictures