Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a fruit native to Southeast Asia. Rambutan got its name from the Malay word for hair because the golf-ball-sized fruit has a hairy red and green shell. Its unmistakable appearance is often compared to that of a sea urchin. Rambutan is a fruit tree cultivated in humid tropical Southeast Asia. It is a common garden fruit tree and propagated commercially in small orchards.