• bullet Fruit, Nut, and Beverage Crops April 2019 F_N-53 Durian for Hawai‘i Ken Love,1 Lindsay Gasik,2 and Robert E. Paull3 1Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, P.O. Box 1162, Captain Cook, Hawai‘i 96704 2Year of the Durian, https://www.yearofthedurian.com/ 3Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 Introduction in the 1741 classical work on Indonesian flora, which The durian, often called the King of Fruit, is one of the stated that the fruit was used to bait the Indian civet cat. most beloved, most hated, and least understood of the The name was not given because the fruit smelled like fruits of Southeast Asia. The edible fleshy part is the the civet cat, as is sometimes assumed. Another point of aril that surrounds the seed and is enclosed in a hard confusion, which arose in the 1800s, is the authority for thorny rind. The seeds are also roasted and eaten. It gets the name. It is sometimes assigned to the Swedish edi- its reputation from its strong, pervasive odor, deemed tor and botanist Johan Andreas Murray, who published nauseating by durian haters but so delicious by durian a German translation of Linnaeus’s 13th edition of the devotees that the durian has an almost cult-like fan-base, Systema Naturae in 1774. His name later appears in with clubs dedicated to “durian hunting” in Indonesia, several major taxonomic works as the author. However, Malaysia, and Thailand and a growing international Linnaeus is the correct authority for Durio zibethinus, agrotourism industry that offers durian-eating travel not Murray (Brown 1997). packages (Figure 1). In famous durian-eating locales like First encounters in botanical literature varied be- Penang, Malaysia, and Chanthaburi, Thailand, Chinese tween love and hate. The earliest explorers to reach and local tourists comprise the largest percentage of Malaysia, from the fleet of the Chinese Admiral Zheng “durian tourists.” around 1407, noted, “They have a kind of foul-smelling The Latin name Durio zibethinus was given by Lin- fruit, of which the foreign name is tu-erh-wu; it resembles naeus, sight-unseen, based on Rumphius’s description the ‘water-fowl head’ of the Central Country; it is eight or Figure 1. Durian fanciers often travel in tour groups to sample the wide range of flavors and aromas found throughout Southeast Asia. Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in co- operation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under the Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822. Copyright 2018, University of Hawai‘i. For reproduction and use permission, contact the CTAHR Office of Communication Services, [email protected], 808-956-7036. The university is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawai‘i without regard to race, sex, gender identity and expression, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or status as a covered veteran. Find CTAHR publications at www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/freepubs. UH–CTAHR Durian for Hawai‘i F_N-53 — April 2019 nine ts’un long [around 9 inches]; on the skin grow sharp prickles; when ripe, it splits open into five or six sections; the foul smell resembles that of putrid beef; [and] inside there are fourteen or fifteen lumps, as big as chestnuts, of milk-white flesh, very sweet and delicious to eat; moreover, all the [lumps] have seeds inside them, [and the seeds,] when roasted and eaten, taste like chestnuts.” Early European explorers, particularly the Portu- guese, were more enthusiastic. In 1583, the Portuguese Garcia da Orta claimed that “the durians of Malacca are the most excellent fruits in the Orient.” The Italian merchant, Francesco Carletti described durian as “de- lightful” in 1599, saying that “no other natural, simple food contains as complex and as sophisticated a variety of odors and flavors.” Linschoten, a Dutch botanist, wrote Figure 2. Some hotels and public transport, including in 1599 that the durian “surpasses in flavor all the other airlines, prohibit durian because of its smell. fruits of the world.” Later botanists found that it took a few attempts with durian to develop a taste for it, but they eventually Common Names in Other Languages became established aficionados. Alfred Russel Wallace The word “durian” comes from the Bahasa Melayu word (1823–1913) a British naturalist and the recognized father for thorn, “duri.” It is used in Malaysia and Indonesia, of biogeography, wrote in 1856 that “to eat durian is a although whether the emphasis falls on the front or new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience” end of the word varies. In Thailand, the fruit is called and “the more you eat of it, the less you feel inclined to “tu-rien,” in Vietnamese “sau rieng” and in Mandarin stop.” David Fairchild, whose home in Florida eventually “liu-lian guo.” The Dutch refer to it as “stinkvrucht,” became the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, also suc- literally “stink fruit.” cumbed to durian’s haunting taste. While in Indonesia, he slipped away one Sunday afternoon to a “native village” Scientific Names to try it. He said, “the flavor being indescribably rich Durio zibethinus Linn., syn. Durio acuminatissima Merr. and sweet, … I enjoyed it at the moment but… its odor returned to plague me.” Later that day, Fairchild recounts, Taxonomists originally placed the genus Durio in when his benefactor Barbour Lathrop returned to their the family Bombacaceae. Molecular data has led to its hotel, he shouted, “Fairy, you’ve been eating durian! I being placed in the expanded Malvaceae family, which smell it! You get out of here and don’t come near me includes the former members of the Bombacaceae (Bayer until that stench has worn off.” Many hotels and public et al. 1999). transport systems today ban durian because of its char- acteristic pungent smell, as well as other strong-smelling Origin fruits (Figure 2). The genus Durio is native to Southeast Asia and is Hawai‘i’s King David Kalākaua (1836–1891) is thought to have evolved on the ancient combined island believed to have been the first to have brought durian of Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. It is closely related to Hawai‘i following his stop in Bangkok, Thailand, to Boschia and Cullenia fruits. Fossil evidence of pol- in 1881 during his circumnavigation of the world. As lens shows that all three may have originated from an a sign of good-will, King Chalalongkorn (1853–1910) ancestor on the Indian subcontinent when it was part of had the ship’s lockers filled with mangosteens, coconuts, Gondwanaland, and that following India’s separation the and durians. The seeds were later planted on George N. durian subsequently went extinct in India. Another pos- Wilcox’s property, The Grove Homestead, on Kaua‘i. The sibility is that Durio and its relatives may have migrated last surviving tree was lost to Hurricane Iniki in 1992. to Southeast Asia from the Indian subcontinent after 2 UH–CTAHR Durian for Hawai‘i F_N-53 — April 2019 India collided with Asia. The largest diversity of durian species appears to be on the island of Borneo and in Peninsular Malaysia. The Table 1. Selected durian varieties commonly grown (as fruit is widely cultivated throughout Malaysia, Thailand, of 2018) in various ASEAN countries Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Indonesia, and to a lesser extent in the southern Philippines. The Portuguese Country Varieties were responsible for distributing durian to Sri Lanka, Indonesia ‘Othong’, ‘Bawor’, ‘Matahari’, ‘Petruk’, India, and Zanzibar in Tanzania, where it can still be ‘Sunan’ found growing commercially today. A small industry Malaysia ‘Musang King’ (D197), D24, ‘Golden exists in northern Australia. Phoenix’ (D198), ‘Red Prawn’ (D175), The British brought durian seeds to most of their D101, and D13 colonies, including Jamaica and the West Indies; however, Philippines ‘Puyat’, ‘Arancillo’, ‘Duyaya’, GD-69, it did not become popular. In the Western Hemisphere, ‘Alcon Fancy’, D101 durian is cultivated on a limited scale in Hawai‘i, Pana- Thailand ‘Monthong’, ‘Chanee’, ‘Ganyao’, ma, Brazil, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, where its popularity ‘Kradumthong’, ‘Puangmanee’ is growing into a small industry. Until 2018’s Hurricane Maria, it was also cultivated commercially in Puerto Rico, but few trees survived the storm. Philippines, Hawai‘i, and Papua New Guinea. Each Cultivars country has its own varieties that are suited to local tastes There are 34 species belonging to the genus Durio and market needs (Table 2). The varieties selected and (Lamb 2018). Four have been seldom photgraphed or developed vary widely in fruit shape, size, and color, documented (Durio bruneinsis, D. lissocarpus, D. pur- with the fleshy aril varying from white to orange with pureous, Durio wyatt-smithii). Twelve are considered different textures and aroma and aroma intensity. Many edible, but only six are commonly consumed by locals, of Singapore’s varieties were lost following the forced and only one, Durio zibethinus, is grown on a commercial relocation of agriculture in the 1980s. scale for export. Thailand, currently the largest producer and exporter Each species of Durio has a different morphology. of durian, produced 600 million kg (656,777 tons) in Durio zibethinus is among the tallest trees, and Durio 2016, with 63% being exported. An estimated 90% of testudinarum among the shortest. When the durian tree durians produced are of the cultivar ‘Monthong’, which is young, it grows tall with a thin trunk, but as it matures produces a large, fleshy fruit with about 35% aril-to-seed the trunk thickens, developing buttresses by the time the ratio.