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Langsat (Lansium domesticum)

Dlium Langsat (Lansium domesticum)

Langsat (Lansium domesticum) is a plant species in the Meliaceae family; it is a medium-sized tree reaching up to 30 meters in height. The trunk is usually irregularly fluted with flat buttress roots protruding above the ground; the bark is grey with dark and orange speckles and contains a thick, sticky, milky sap.

L. domesticum has odd-pinnate compound leaves—either glabrous or finely hairy—consisting of 6–9 alternately arranged leaflets. The leaflets are elliptical to oblong, 9–21 cm long and 5–10 cm wide; they are glossy and leathery on the upper surface, with a pointed base, a short acuminate tip, and a stalk 5–12 mm long.

The flowers grow in clusters on the trunk or large branches; these clusters hang singly or in groups of 2–5 (or more), are often branched at the base, measure 10–30 cm in length, and are hairy. The individual flowers are small, sessile or short-stalked, and solitary.

The calyx is cup-shaped, fleshy, greenish-yellow, and consists of 5 parts. The corolla is ovoid, erect, and fleshy, measuring 2–3 mm in width and 4–5 mm in length, with a color ranging from white to pale yellow. The stamens form a 2 mm tube with the anthers arranged in a ring. The pistil is thick and short.

The fruit is a berry that is ellipsoid, round, or oblong-round, measuring 2–4 × 1.5–5 cm; it is covered in fine yellowish hairs and retains the persistent calyx. The fruit skin is up to 6 mm thick. There are 1–3 seeds, which are flat, green, and bitter. The seeds are encased in an aril that is translucent white, thick, and juicy, with a taste ranging from sweet to sour.

The tree begins to flower at 10–15 years of age. As the seeds are recalcitrant, storage for longer than seven days leads to a decline in germination viability. Vegetative propagation is achieved through air layering and shoot grafting.

Duku is primarily cultivated for its fruit, which is typically consumed fresh, though some is processed into bottled syrup. The wood is hard, dense, heavy, and durable, making it a common material for tools and home construction.

Various parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine. Crushed seeds mixed with water serve as a remedy for intestinal worms and fever. The bark is used to treat dysentery and malaria, while powdered bark is applied to scorpion stings. The fruit rind is used to treat diarrhea and can be dried and burned as a mosquito repellent or incense.

The tree is typically grown at elevations between 0 and 600 meters in areas with annual rainfall of 1,500–2,500 mm, thriving in Latosol, yellow Podzolic, and alluvial soils. It prefers soils with a medium texture, good drainage, high organic matter content, and slight acidity. It generally bears fruit once a year, typically around the beginning of the rainy season.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Lansium Corrêa in Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 10: 157 (1807)
Species: Lansium domesticum Corrêa in Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 10: 157 (1807)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Aglaia domestica (Corrêa) Pellegr. in H.Lecomte (ed.), Fl. Indo-Chine 1: 766 (1911)
Lachanodendron domesticum (Corrêa) Nees in Flora 8: 103 (1825)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Taeniochlaena polyneura G.Schellenb. in Beibl. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 131: 24 (1924)
Aglaia aquea (Jack) Kosterm. in Reinwardtia 7: 234 (1966)
Aglaia dookoo Griff. in Not. Pl. Asiat. 4: 505 (1854)
Aglaia intricatoreticulata Kosterm. (1966)
Aglaia merrillii Elmer in Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 9: 3298 (1937)
Aglaia sepalina (Kosterm.) Kosterm. (1966)
Aglaia steenisii Kosterm. (1966)
Amoora racemosa Ridl. in J. Fed. Malay States Mus. 10: 88 (1920)
Lachanodendron album Reinw. ex Blume in Catalogus: 70 (1823)
Lansium aqueum (Jack) Miq. in Fl. Ned. Ind. 1(2): 545 (1859)
Lansium domesticum var. aqueum Jack in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 14: 116 (1823)
Lansium domesticum var. pubescens Koord. & Valeton in Bijdr. Boomsoort. Java 3: 180 (1896)
Lansium javanicum M.Roem. in Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 1: 99 (1846)
Lansium pedicellatum Kosterm. (1965)
Lansium sepalinum Kosterm. (1965)

PUBLICATIONS

Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.

Kalkman, C. & al. (eds.) (1995-1996). Flora Malesiana 12: 1-784. Noordhoff-Kolff N.V., Djakarta.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

VERNACULAR NAME

Aceh: Lansat, Lancat
Arabic: لزيوم منزلى
Bali: Celoring, Ceroring
Burmese: လန်ဆတ် - ဒူကူ Langsak, Duku
Empat Lawang: Tebel gelat
English: Langsat, Duku
Filipino: Lansones, Boboa, Buahan, Lanzone, Lanzon
Finnish: Langsat
French: Duku
Indonesia: Langsat, Duku, Kokosan, Pisitan, Celoring
Japanese: ランサ
Java: Langsat, Langsep, Duku, Dukuh, Pijetan, Celuring
Kalimantan: Lansét, Lasat, Losot, Léhat, Lihat, Rihat, Richat
Komering: Langsak
Lampung: Langsak, Lasak, Rarsak, Rasak
Madura: Celoréng
Malaysia: Langsat, Langsat hutan, Duku, Duku-langsat
Maluku: Lasat, Lasaté, Lasété, Nasaté, Lasato, Lalasat, Lasa
Melayu: Langsat, Langseh, Langsep, Lansa, Duku, Duku Langsat, Pisitan, Celoreng, Dokong
Minangkabau: Langsék
Nias: Lasé
Russian: Лансиум домашний
Sinhala: ගඩු ගුඩ Gadu guda
Slovak: Lansium ovocné
Sulawesi Selatan: Lansa, Lasa, Lasé, Lésé
Sulawesi Utara: Lansa, Lasat, Lasot, Lansot, Dansot, Ranso, Lantat
Sunda: Kokosan, Pisitan, Bijitan
Thai: ลองกอง
Vietnam: Bònbon, Lòn bon

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