Averrhoa carambola
(carambola)

Preferred Common Name

• carambola

Other Scientific Names

• Averrhoa acutangula Stokes
• Sarcotheca philippica (Villar) Hallier f.

International Common Names

• English: carambola; carambola tree; carambold; Chinese gooseberry; Coromandel gooseberry; cucumber tree; five-corner; star fruit tree; starfruit
• Spanish: carambolo
• French: carambolier; carambolier vrai
• Chinese: ma fen; yang-táo

Local Common Names

• Australia: five corner
• Brazil: camerunga; caramboleiro; limas de Cayena
• Cambodia: spo; spu
• Costa Rica: tiriguro
• Dominican Republic: vinagrillo
• El Salvador: pepino de la India
• Finland: karambola
• French West Indies: cornichon
• Germany: Karambolabaum; karambole; Sternfrucht
• Guam: bilimbin; bilimbines
• Guyana: five fingers
• Haiti: bimblin longue; blinblin longue; carambolier; conichon du pays; zibeline; zibeline longue; zibline; zimbline
• India: kamaranga; kamrakh; kamruk
• Indonesia: belimbing manis
• Laos: fuang; nak fuang
• Malaysia: belimbing batu; belimbing besi; belimbing manis; belimbing pessegi; belimbing saji; belimbing sayur; blinbing manis; caramba; carambola tree; kambola
• Mexico: árbol de pepino; caramboler; carambolera
• Myanmar: mak-hpung; zaung-yar
• Nicaragua: melocotón
• Pakistan: kamrak; kamranga
• Palau: kemim; ouderteboteb
• Panama: mamoncillo chino
• Philippines: balimbin; balimbing; balingbing; daligan; dalihan; galangan; galuran; garahan; garulan; malimbin; sirinate
• Puerto Rico: carambold; jalea; star pickle
• Sri Lanka: kamaranga; kamruk
• Suriname: blimbing legi; fransman-birambi
• Sweden: karambola
• Thailand: ma fu’ang; ma fueang
• Tonga: tapanima
• Trinidad and Tobago: coolie tamarind
• Venezuela: tamarindo chino; tamarindo dulce
• Vietnam: khe; khe ta

EPPO code

• AVRCA (Averrhoa carambola)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Geraniales
•                         Family: Oxalidaceae
•                             Genus: Averrhoa
•                                 Species: Averrhoa carambola

Oxalidaceae, sometimes called the ‘wood sorrel’ family, includes over 800 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees, mostly of neotropical origin. The genus name Averrhoa is in honour of the famous twelth-century philosopher Averrhoes from Andalusia (Macfadyen, 1837). The species name carambola is its vernacular name used in most of the Old World and Neotropics. Several of the common names of the plant are associated with the shape of the fruit in cross-section, which resembles a 5-pointed star.

The following description is taken from Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015):

Plants 3-12(-15) m tall, densely branched, young parts finely pubescent or glabrous. Leaves 7-25 cm; petiole 2-8 cm; leaflets (3-)5-13; petiolules 1-2.5 mm; leaflet blades ovate to elliptic, 3-8 × 1.5-4.5 cm, abaxially pubescent to nearly glabrous, base obliquely rounded, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescences axillary or rameal, panicles or cymes, branches and flower buds crimson. Flowers numerous, small. Sepals narrowly elliptic, 3-5 mm, base sparingly pubescent. Petals white with purple markings or pink to red with darker markings, 6-9 × 3-4 mm. Shorter stamens sterile, occasionally 1 or 2 fertile. Ovary pubescent. Berry yellow to yellow-brown, oblong, 7-13 × 5-8 cm, deeply (3-)5(or 6)-ribbed, stellate in cross section, very fleshy. Seeds numerous, blackish brown.

A. carambola, like A. bilimbi, is generally thought to have originated in tropical Southeast Asia, perhaps Sri Lanka and the Moluccas (Morton, 1987). It is also speculated by some to be native to the Neotropics, which has led to uncertainty over its true origin, especially since it has been cultivated across the Old World tropics for centuries. In the Philippines, for example, Merrill (1904) and Quisumbing (1951) report both A. bilimbi and A. carambola as having been introduced via the galleon trade to the Philippines from tropical America during the Spanish colonial period.

The species is reported to have been introduced into southern Florida, USA, before 1887 (Morton, 1987). Largely viewed as “a curiosity” initially, a variety selected in Florida from seeds introduced from Hawaii was vegetatively propagated during the 1940's and 1950's and, in late 1965, was officially released under the name 'Golden Star' and distributed to growers” (Morton, 1987).

Date of introduction to the West Indies is uncertain. While its close relation A. bilimbi was listed as present in Jamaica by the 1830’s (Macfadyen, 1837), A. carambola was reportedly present by 1851 (Britton and Wilson, 1924) but was not included in Bello’s (1881; 1883) work on Puerto Rico, Britton’s (1918) flora of Bermuda, or Britton’s (1920) work on the Bahamas, suggesting it was not considered a major species during this time. It was, however, in Britton and Wilson’s (1924) flora of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, in which it was reportedly already present in St. Thomas by 1851 and seen by the authors in Puerto Rico in 1915. The species was introduced to Puerto Rico for its fruit and has since become naturalized here, as well as in many other tropical and subtropical regions (Liogier and Martorell, 2000).

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Natural Dispersal

It is possible that the seeds of A. carambola could be dispersed by water, as the species is known to grow in the coastal areas of Ecuador (Vascular Plants of Ecuador, 2015), but there are no confirmed reports of seed dispersal through this vector.

Vector Transmission (Biotic)

Seeds might be carried or eaten by animals who feed on the fleshy fruit encapsulating the seeds, but there are no confirmed reports of seed dispersal through this vector.

Intentional Introduction

A. carambola has been intentionally introduced in tropical regions around the world for human cultivation, as it is used in food and medicine. It has been the subject of breeding programs and has been proposed as a potential agroforestry species (Morton, 1987; FAO EcoCrop, 2015).

A. carambola is known to be a cultivation escape, naturalized, and weedy (Liogier and Martorell, 2000; Randall, 2012), but the extent of its potential environmental damage requires further evaluation.

Outside of cultivation, increased populations of A. carambola could positively impact livelihoods of communities, particularly those who rely on local foraging and can harvest fruits of this species for food and sale. However, there is mounting clinical evidence for the toxicity of consuming the fruits, as they contain high levels of oxalic acid which can cause renal failure in humans (Neto et al., 2003).

• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Tolerant of shade

• Negatively impacts human health

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

Starfruit is normally consumed fresh as a dessert fruit. Dessert fruit and minimally processed slices should preferably have a high sugar to acid ratio. Tart fruit are preferred in Taiwan for processing into juice. Starfruit can be consumed as jams, preserves, pickles, candy, juice and liquor. Green fruit are sometimes consumed as a vegetable. Sliced fruit can be added to salads (Janick & Paull, 2008).

Fruits of acid cultivars have been used to clean and polish brass, and the juice used to bleach rust stains from cloth. The wood of A. carambola is white, though older wood is reddish. It is close grained and medium hard, and has been used for furniture and in construction (Morton, 1987).