Carambola, or star fruit, is one of the exotic fruits that is a traditional food for people in Indonesia, Thailand, India, and other countries of Southeast Asia.

1. The fruit has several names – starfruit, carom, star apple, tropical star. Several names of the fruit are associated with the star, and all because in the context of the slices of carambola are very similar to five-pointed stars.
2. Fruits grow on low evergreen trees of the oxalis family, which reach a height of 3-5 m. The leaves of the tree are acacia-like, reaching 30 cm in length.
3. The fruits are crispy and juicy, with an unusual oblong shape, with growths like sharp ribs. Ripe fruits are amber-yellow in color, up to 15 cm in length. Inside there are seeds that look like pumpkin seeds.
4. Carambola is eaten with the peel. The fruit tastes like a combination of apple, citrus, grape, and pear.
5. Carambola is divided into 2 types: sweet with large fruits up to 12 cm in length, and sour, with small fruits and sharper edges of the ribs.
6. Carambola varieties differ in their taste. Some resemble a combination of an apple with grapes, a plum with a gooseberry, or a rose apple. There are several main varieties of this plant.
7. The leaves of the tree curl up like the wings of a butterfly when they lack light or are touched.
8. The carambola flowers have a very original taste; they are used as seasonings for salads. The unripe fruits are used as vegetables, and a delicious stew is obtained from stewed green star fruit.
9. In India, the fruit is used as an effective hangover cure. Residents of Sri Lanka clean hard-to-remove stains from tissues with fruit juice.
10. Green fruits are used to whiten dentures due to a large amount of oxalic acid.
11. The leaves of the plant are similar in taste to spinach, they are actively used in cooking, especially in India.
12. Fruit juice perfectly quenches thirst on hot days.
13. Unripe fruits in Thailand are used as a shine for brass and copper products.
14. Fruits contain a lot of vitamins C, A, and group B, they contain sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, ascorbic acid, and fiber. The fruit is very useful and has medicinal properties.
15. In the traditional medicine of warm countries, where the fruit comes from, carambola leaves, seeds, fruits, and flowers are used to treat many health problems.