Diospyros blancoi

While wading through the sea of humans at the pasar malam, one kind of fruits which is pink in colour really attracted my attention. After talking to the seller for a few minutes, I decided to buy some. The guy was kind enough to let me sample some for free. He told me that kampung folks called it "buah seralat". Another name for it is buah mentega (butter fruit). It was my first time seeing such a fruit.

Well, curiousity kills the cat. I did a search on Google based on the little information I have in hand. At last, managed to find some information on this exotic fruit.

Scientific name : diospyros blancoi (official), diospyros discolor (illegitimate binomial)
English name : velvet apple, butter fruit, velvet persimmon
Malay name : buah seralat, buah, sakhlat, buah mentega
Indonesian name : bisbul
Chinese name : 毛柿 (mao shi)
Japanese name : ケガキ (kegaki)
Thai name : marit
Filipino name : kamagong, mabolo
French name : pommier velours
Spanish name : camagon

This plant belongs to the Ebenaceae family and is native to the Philippines. It is also cultivated in Malaysia (of course), Taiwan, India, and Indonesia (Sumatra and Java) . It has also been introduced to other tropical areas, including Hawaii, southern Florida; Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Trinidad, Bermuda, and Honduras.

It is a relative of the common Chinese persimmon or sharon fruit (diospyros kaki).