Lai is a fruit plant similar to durian. This species is also known by several other names, such as yellow durian, tinggang durian, pulu durian, nyekak, segment, sekawi, pekawai and others, with the scientific name Durio kutejensis.
This type of durian has a characteristic that it does not emit a pungent odor from the fruit like durian in general.
Elai has many differences with durian including color, aroma, and taste.
The color of the yellow flesh, which is slightly orange in color, is the striking difference between elai and durian. In addition, the size of the elai fruit is also smaller.
In addition to its smaller size, lai also has a short stalk. If the lai is still raw, the stalks will be green to yellowish in color. However, the color of the stalk will turn yellow to brown when it is fully ripe.
From the tree side, lai and durian have the same tree shape. However, the size of the leaves for lai is larger and thicker. The leaves can reach 20-25 cm and 5-7 cm wide
Not only from the leaves, other flowers are also quite large. In addition, the color of the flowers also varies, such as pink to dark red
In terms of taste, elai fruit has a different taste from durian fruit. While the texture of the flesh of the fruit is also denser and dry than the durian fruit. And the aroma of elai fruit is not too strong.
Lai’s Characteristics:
Medium-sized tree, with a height of up to 24 m and a gemang of 40 cm.
The leaves of the Lai Tree are the same as durian in general, but have leaves that are larger and thicker. The length of the leaves can reach 20-25 cm, with a width of 5-7 cm. The flowers are large, red, smell of carrion when blooming. This flower is pollinated by both forest honey bees, birds, and bats.
Capsule fruit similar to durian, bear lima, oval to oval, dull yellow, with slightly bent thorns. Seeds oval, glossy brown, covered by yellow or orange flesh (arilus), slightly dry, sweet and smells good. The fruit is small to medium (1โ2 kg), short stem, light green or yellowish green when unripe.
Ecology and distribution:
The original habitat of this tree is hilly slope forest in the interior of Central Kalimantan. In South Kalimantan and parts of Central Kalimantan, this fruit is called papaken.[5] This tree is a tree that makes up the middle canopy layer, which grows under the protection of the forest canopy.
This fruit is grown in various regions of Kalimantan, and was introduced to Queensland, in Brunei Darussalam this fruit is preferred by local people over ordinary durian.