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Averrhoa carambola
Also called Starfruit, Five Corner, Blimbing, Caramba
Carambola, or starfruit, is a small, slow-growing evergreen tree from tropical Southeast Asia, grown for its star-shaped edible fruit. It needs warm, frost-free, humid conditions and a sunny spot.
Averrhoa carambola is a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae native to tropical Southeast Asia; it has a number of common names, including carambola, star fruit and five-corner. It is a small tree or shrub that grows 5 to 12 m (16 to 39 ft) 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.
Like several other plants of the family Oxalidaceae, its fruits are rich in oxalic acid, which is toxic in high concentrations.
There have been reports of intoxication in dialysis and uremic patients caused by a neurotoxin called caramboxin present in the fruit. Such toxin is normally filtered by the kidneys, but patients in dialysis or suffering from kidney deficiencies may show severe symptoms, in a few cases fatal, after drinking the fruit juice.
The center of diversity and the original range of Averrhoa carambola is tropical Southeast Asia, where it is cultivated since ancient times. It might have been introduced to the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka by Austronesian traders, along with ancient Austronesian cultigens like langsat, and santol. It is native to Southeast Asia, however, because this plant is not found in the wild it is difficult to pinpoint where exactly it originated.
Averrhoa carambola is best known as the star fruit, as it is best known for the star-like shape it has when cut. In addition to being eaten, the fruit is used in traditional Asian medicine to treat chickenpox, intestinal parasites, headaches, and other illnesses. Star fruit contains oxalate, too much of which can be dangerous.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Averrhoa carambola by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
