The longan (Dimocarpus longan) is a small round subtropical fruit of the soapberry family and a close kin of the lychee and rambutan, named "dragon eye" (lóngyǎn) in Chinese because a peeled fruit — translucent, glassy flesh wrapped around a single shiny black seed showing through — looks startlingly like an eyeball. The thin, tan-to-brown leathery shell snaps off to reveal a juicy, sweet, faintly musky aril; drier, browner and far less perfumed than the lychee, the longan is eaten fresh but is above all dried in vast quantity for Chinese soups, teas and tonics.