Meliaceae
How to identify a Duku langsat tree
Lansium domesticum 'Duku' · also called langsat
A thicker-rinded cultivar group with little to no irritating latex, larger fruit, and easier peeling than typical langsat — generally sweeter and less seedy.
Duku is a named cultivar of langsat. A photo identifier names the species, Lansium domesticum, not the cultivar: grafted cultivars of one species share the same leaves, bark and flowers. Telling Duku apart from other langsat trees takes the fruit itself, the nursery label, or the grafting record.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Lansium, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Leaves are pinnately compound.
- Round, pale yellow fruit hang in clusters from the trunk and larger branches. Langsat, duku and longkong are forms of one species and look much alike.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If Duku langsat is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Southern Malaysia / Sumatra
- USDA zones
- 10b-11
- Climate
- Tropical humid lowland.
- Fruiting season
- July, August and September (typical, Northern Hemisphere)
- How often grown
- Uncommon in cultivation
Fruit is the most reliable way to confirm an identification, so July, August and September is the easiest window. Outside it, rely on the leaves and the overall habit. A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Grafted 3-4 yrs; distinguishable from seedling stage by a bitter leaf taste, a trait growers use to identify true duku before it fruits
- Propagation
- Grafting, air-layering.
Other langsat cultivars
Relatives in the Meliaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
Map your Duku langsat trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides