Long Yan Hua

Long Yan Hua refers to the dried flowers of Dimocarpus longan (Sapindaceae), the longan tree, an evergreen tropical species 10–20 m tall native to southern China and Southeast Asia. Leaves are alternate, paripinnate, 15–30 cm long, with 6–10 leathery, elliptic-lanceolate leaflets glossy above and dull beneath. Inflorescences are large terminal or subterminal panicles 15–40 cm long bearing many small, yellowish to brownish actinomorphic flowers about 5–6 mm across, each with 5–6 sepals, 5 petals, 6–10 stamens and a bilobed ovary; pubescence is rusty-stellate. The flowers are valued aromatic by-products of fruit cultivation in Fujian and Guangdong.