Star fruit - Carambola
Its star-shaped fruit has a tangy taste that suits salads and drinks.
The star fruit tree or carambola is native to tropical Southeast Asia, but is now cultivated all over the tropics. The five-ribbed fruits are extremely sour and give an exotic taste to salads and drinks. In some places, the fruit is also used as a treatment for eczema, fever or hangover.
The sour taste of the star fruit is due to its high content of oxalic acid, just like wood sorrel or rhubarb. The high content of oxalic acid means that the juice of the carambola can be used to polish metal. It is especially suited to the polishing of copper.
Facts:
- Greenhouse location: Tropical house
- Danish name: Stjernefrugt, karambole
- Latin name: Averrhoa carambola
- Family: Wood sorrel family / Oxalidaceae
- Natural habitat: India and Southeast Asia