Averrhoa carambola is a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae native to tropical Southeast Asia; it has a number of common names, including carambola, star fruit and five-corner. It is a small tree or shrub that grows tall, with rose to red-purple flowers. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The flowers are often produced year round under tropical conditions. The tree is cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions for its edible fruits. Taxonomy The species in the genus Averrhoa along with the species in genus Sarcotheca are the only woody, tree-like plants belonging to the Oxalis family Oxalidaceae. The Oxalis family has nearly 900 species; most are herbaceous perennials or annuals native from tropical and semitropical locations, although a number also grow in other parts of the world. Averrhoa has sometimes been placed in the family Averrhoaceae. Averrhoa carambola is one of two species in the genus Averrhoa, both have edible fruit; the other species A. bilimbi, which is sometimes called the bilimbi or the cucumber tree, is limited to tropical regions. The fruits of A. bilimbi are too sour to be eaten raw, while the sweet forms of A. carambola are eaten raw. The fruits of A. bilimbi and the sour forms—which have high oxalic acid content—of A. carambola are pickled and made into jelly, jam, and juice. The genus was named after Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin Rushd (better known just as Ibn Rushd), who was called Averroes in European literature - a famous Arabian physician, astronomer and philosopher of the 12th century. Past synonyms include: Averrhoa pentandra Blanco, Fl. Filip., 392. 1837. Averrhoa acutangula Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. vol. 2, 543. 1812. Connaropsis philippica Villar in Blanco, Fl. Filip. ed. vol. 3, app. 33. 1880. The tree and fruits have many different names, carambola is the Spanish vernacular name of the tree. In English it is called star fruit, five-corner or carambola, in Malaysia and the Philippines it has numerous names. In Indonesia it is called belimbing, in Tagalog it is called balimbing. The related bilimbi is called kamias in Tagalog. In French, the tree is called carambolier and the fruit carambole. Description Averrhoa carambola is a small, slow-growing evergreen tree with a short-trunk or a shrub. The branches are drooping and the wood is white and turns reddish. It has a bushy shape with many branches producing