Carambola (Birimbi, Star Fruit) in Zanzibar 2024-2025
When you cut across it, this fruit looks like a 5-pointed star
Best time: April–June | October–December
Carambola is one of the more exciting exotic fruits. They grow on evergreen trees and have an oval shape from 6 to 13 cm long. When you cut across it, the fruit looks like a 5-pointed star. Therefore this amazing fruit has a different name - star fruit. In Zanzibar locals call it Birimbi. The cultivars that grow here are very sweet and juicy with a yellow (sometimes green) waxy edible peel (the seeds are edible too). By the way, the ripe fruit is a good source of vitamins (A,C), phosphorus, and potassium. In the Zanzibar archipelago "star fruit" trees bloom year round, but only have fruit twice a year—from April to June and from October to December.
