Durio zibethinus

Durio zibethinus is the most common tree species in the genus Durio that are known as durian and
have edible fruit also known as durian.

As with most other durian species, the edible flesh emits a distinctive odour that is strong and
penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly
sweet fragrance; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting. The persistence of its odour has
led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

There are 30 recognised Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. D. zibethinus is the
only species available in the international market: other species are sold in their local regions. There
are hundreds of cultivars of D. zibethinus; many consumers express preferences for specific
cultivars, which fetch higher prices in the market.

Description

The wood of D. zibethinus is reddish brown.[4]

Ecology

D. zibethinus flowers are visited by bats which eat the pollen and pollinate the flowers.[4] The flowers
open in the afternoon and shed pollen in the evening. By the following morning, the calyx, petals, and
stamens have fallen off to leave only the gynoecium of the flower.[4]

Food uses

Different cultivars of durian often have

distinct colours. D101 (right) has rich
yellow flesh, clearly distinguishable
from another variety (left).
Over the centuries, numerous durian cultivars,
Durio zibethinus
propagated by vegetative clones, have arisen in
southeast Asia. They used to be grown with mixed
results from seeds of trees bearing superior quality
fruit, but now are propagated by layering, marcotting,
or more commonly, by grafting, including bud, veneer,
wedge, whip or U-grafting onto seedlings of randomly
selected rootstocks. Different cultivars may be
distinguished to some extent by variations in the fruit
shape, such as the shape of the spines.[4] Durian
consumers express preferences for specific cultivars,
which fetch higher prices in the market.[6]

Most cultivars have a common name and a code

number starting with "D". For example, some popular
clones are Kop (D99 Thai: กบ – "frog" [kòp]), Chanee
Scientific classification
(D123, Thai: ชะนี – gibbon [tɕʰániː]), Berserah or Green
Durian or Tuan Mek Hijau (D145 Thai: ทุเรียนเขียว – Kingdom: Plantae
Green Durian [tʰúriːən kʰǐow]), Kan Yao (D158, Thai:
Clade: Tracheophytes
ก้านยาว – Long Stem [kâːn jaːw]), Mon Thong (D159,
Thai: หมอนทอง – Golden Pillow [mɔ̌ːn tʰɔːŋ]), Kradum Clade: Angiosperms
Thong (Thai: กระดุมทอง – Golden Button [kràdum
Clade: Eudicots
tʰɔːŋ]), and with no common name, D24 and D169.
Each cultivar has a distinct taste and odour. More than Clade: Rosids
200 cultivars of D. zibethinus exist in Thailand.
Order: Malvales
Mon thong is the most commercially sought after for
its thick, full-bodied creamy and mild sweet tasting Family: Malvaceae

flesh with relatively moderate smell emitted and

Genus: Durio
smaller seeds, while Chanee is the best in terms of its
resistance to infection by Phytophthora palmivora. Kan Species: D. zibethinus
Yao is somewhat less common, but prized for its
Binomial name
longer window of time when it is both sweet and
odorless at the same time. Among all the cultivars in Durio zibethinus
Thailand, five are currently in large-scale commercial L.

cultivation: Chanee, Mon Thong, Kan Yao, Ruang, and

Kradum.[7] There have been more than 100 registered
cultivars since the 1920s in Malaysia[8] and up to 193
cultivars by 1992.[9] Many superior cultivars have been
identified through competitions held at the annual
Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture, and Agrotourism
Show. In Vietnam, the same process has been
achieved through competitions held by the Southern
Fruit Research Institute. A recently popular variety is
Musang King.[10] Native distribution of D. zibethinus[1]
Exotic distribution of D. zibethinus[2]
By 2007, Thai government scientist Songpol Somsri
had crossbred more than ninety varieties of durian to Synonyms[3]

create Chantaburi No. 1, a cultivar without the

Durio acuminatissimus Merr.
characteristic odour.[11] Another hybrid, Chantaburi No.
Durio stercoraceus Noronha nom. inval.
3, develops the odour about three days after the fruit is
picked, which enables an odourless transport yet
satisfies consumers who prefer the pungent Genomic information

odour.[11] On 22 May 2012, two other cultivars NCBI genome ID 57226 (https://www.n
from Thailand that also lack the usual odour, Long cbi.nlm.nih.gov/geno
Laplae and Lin Laplae, were presented to the me/?term=57226)

public by Yothin Samutkhiri, governor of Uttaradit

Ploidy diploid[5]
Province, from where these cultivars were
developed locally, and announced the dates for Genome size 715.23[5]

the yearly durian fair of Laplae District, and the

Number of 56[5]
[12]
names given to both cultivars. chromosomes

In addition to the pulp being edible, the seeds can Year of completion 2017[5]
be eaten after being roasted.[13]

Nutrition

Raw durian is 65% water, 27% carbohydrates, 5% fats, and 1% protein (table). In a reference amount
of 100 g (3.5 oz), raw durian supplies 147 calories of food energy, and is a rich source (20% or more
of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (22% DV), thiamine (31% DV), and the dietary mineral, copper
(23% DV) (table). Raw durian is a moderate source (10-19% DV) of the B vitamins, riboflavin and
vitamin B6, and the minerals, manganese and potassium (table).
See also Raw durian (
Durio zibethinus

Breadfruit, an unrelated fruit that looks similar )

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Jackfruit, an unrelated fruit that looks similar

Energy 615 kJ (147 kcal)

References
Carbohydrates 27.09 g
1. Durio zibethinus (http://www.worldagroforest
Dietary fiber 3.8 g
ry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Durio_zibethinus.pd
f) at worldagroforestry.org Fat 5.33 g

2. A traveler´s guide to Durian Season (http://w

Protein 1.47 g
ww.yearofthedurian.com/p/our-ebooks.htm
l) at yearofthedurian.com
Vitamins and minerals [show]
3. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant
Species" (http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/r
Other constituents Quantity
ecord/kew-2779470) . Retrieved July 3,
2014. Water 65 g

4. Brown, Michael J. (1997). Durio – A

Link to USDA database entry (https://fdc.nal.u
Bibliographic Review (https://books.google.c sda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168192/
nutrients)
om/books?id=3AcGwT0CdSwC) .
†
International Plant Genetic Resources Percentages estimated using US recommendations
for adults,[14] except for potassium, which is estimated
Institute (IPGRI). ISBN 978-92-9043-318-7.
based on expert recommendation from the National
Retrieved 2014-06-03. Academies.[15]
 5. Teh, Bin Tean; Lim, Kevin; Yong, Chern Han; Young, Cedric Chuan; Rao, Sushma Ramesh;
Rajasegaran, Vikneswari; Lim, Weng Khong; Ong, Choon Kiat; Chan, Ki; Cheng, Vincent Kin Yuen;
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ng.3972) . Nature Genetics. 49 (11): 1633–1641. doi:10.1038/ng.3972 (https://doi.org/10.103
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mp.com.sg/stfoodiesclub/taste/03/index.html) . The Straits Times. 2006. Archived from the
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Retrieved 2007-07-25.

7. "Durian Exporting Strategy, National Durian Database (กลยุทธการส่งออกทุเรียน)" (https://web.arc

hive.org/web/20110818174921/http://it.doa.go.th/durian/detail.php?id=164&PHPSESSID=0a7d
d4c12222a10cdbd00d70796cec00) (in Thai). Department of Agriculture, Thailand. Archived
from the original (http://it.doa.go.th/durian/detail.php?id=164&PHPSESSID=0a7dd4c12222a10c
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8. "Comprehensive List of Durian Clones Registered by the Agriculture Department (of Malaysia)"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20070407225917/http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/info/vk
_duri.htm) . Durian OnLine. Archived from the original (http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/i
nfo/vk_duri.htm) on 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2006-03-05.

9. "Boosting Durian Productivity" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130616193628/https://rirdc.info

services.com.au/downloads/97-001W.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (https://rirdc.info
services.com.au/downloads/97-001W.pdf) (PDF) on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2014-07-03.

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b/20110707175331/http://travel.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20090623-150378.ht
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y/A1Story20090623-150378.html) on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

11. Fuller, Thomas (2007-04-08). "Fans Sour on Sweeter Version of Asia's Smelliest Fruit" (https://w
ww.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/world/asia/08durian.html) . The New York Times. Retrieved
2008-11-20.
12. "Odourless durians to hit the market – The Nation" (https://web.archive.org/web/201206251814
13/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Odourless-durians-to-hit-the-market-30182636.h
tml) . Archived from the original (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Odourless-durian
s-to-hit-the-market-30182636.html) on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-03.

13. Hargreaves, Dorothy; Hargreaves, Bob (1970). Tropical Trees of the Pacific (https://archive.org/d
etails/tropicaltreesofp00harg) . Kailua, Hawaii: Hargreaves. p. 19 (https://archive.org/details/tr
opicaltreesofp00harg/page/19) .

14. United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and
Supplement Facts Labels" (https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-a
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15. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food
and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and
Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy" (https://nap.
nationalacademies.org/read/25353/chapter/8#120) . In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan;
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