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Longan Arillus
Longan flesh
龙眼肉 〔龍眼肉〕 lóng yǎn ròu
Alternate Chinese names: 桂圆 guì yuán; 桂圆肉 guì yuán ròu; 龙眼 lóng yǎn; 圆肉 yuán ròu; 龙眼干 lóng yǎn gān; 蜜脾 mì pí; 益智2 yì zhì
Kingdom: Plant
Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Dimocarpus longan Lour. [= Euphoria longana Lamarck]. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)
Origin in unofficial sources: Dimocarpus longan Lour.*; Euphoria longan (Lour.) Steud.
Use: Medicinal
Category: Supplementing agents / Blood-supplementing agents
Properties: Sweet; warm.
Channel entry: Heart and spleen channels.
Actions and indications: Supplements the heart and spleen, nourishes the blood, and quiets the spirit: Dual vacuity of the heart and spleen, manifesting in fright palpitations, fearful throbbing, insomnia, or forgetfulness.
Dosage and method: Oral: 10–15g or up to 30g. Can be decocted, made into pastes or pills, prepared as a medicinal liquor, or brewed as a tea with hot water and a little yellow rice wine.
Warnings: Contraindicated in center fullness due to damp obstruction or in the presence of phlegm, rheum, or fire.
Product description: The dried fruit is spherical, and about 1.5 cm in diameter. The exterior surface is smooth, and a grayish yellow in color. The skin, about 1 mm thick, is brittle and breaks easily to reveal the interior flesh, which through drying has turned from white to dark brown, and shrunken to a sticky, semitranslucent mass, detaching itself from the skin. Amid the flesh is a single dark brown pit.
Quality: Best are large fruits with thick, soft, semi-translucent brown flesh that has a strong sweet flavor.
Production area: Táiwān, Guǎngxī, Guǎngdōng.
Etymology: The name lóng yǎn ròu 龙眼肉, literally flesh of the dragon's eye,
the fruit so named by its imagined similarity the eye of a dragon. The English name longan is derives from the Cantonese pronunciation (long gnaan) of the same characters.