Is there a difference between fengli and boluo? One article explains the differences between the two

Boluo and fengli are both very common fruits, but many people in daily life are not clear whether boluo and fengli are the same fruit, and if not, what difference is there between the two?

People often ask me whether there is a difference between fengli and boluo? I can definitely answer you. Yes! Definitely yes!

Appearance  

First, let us talk about the difference between the two in appearance. The leaves of boluo have serrated edges, and if you touch them, it feels like they can cut your hand. The leaves of fengli are relatively smooth.

Color

In terms of color, the skin of boluo is relatively yellow, while the skin color of fengli is more green.

Flesh

After boluo is peeled, it has inner spines that need to be removed, while after fengli is peeled, there are no inner spines.

Taste

In terms of taste, the difference between the two is even greater. The flesh of boluo is relatively firm and the flavor is relatively strong, and after eating too much, your tongue will feel numb; while the flesh of fengli is relatively soft, the juice is also relatively greater, and after eating too much, your tongue will not feel anything unusual.

However, if someone tells you that because of these differences, boluo and fengli are two kinds of fruit, what I want to tell you is that this is purely serious-sounding nonsense.

Actually, these people are really overthinking it. Because fengli is simply boluo! In botany, fengli is commonly known as boluo, one of the famous tropical fruits, called Ananascomosus.

Whether or not there are inner spines, it is all a difference between varieties, just like sandy-fleshed watermelon and watery-fleshed watermelon are both watermelon. Fruit sellers in mainland China often call the thornless, greenish-skinned varieties fengli, and call the thorny, toothed-leaf ones boluo. Then they say “fengli” is sweeter and tastier, because in this way they can sell it for a higher price.

Boluo originated in Brazil and was introduced into China in the early 16th century. It got its name because "its peel resembles jackfruit and its color is yellow."

After it spread to Taiwan, China, the people of Taiwan, China gave it an even more beautiful name: fengli. In Southern Min, the pronunciation of fengli sounds very much like "wanglai", so it is also called wangli.

In other words, fengli and boluo are merely different names evolved after the same fruit was introduced into different regions.

Similar situations are not uncommon in the fruit world, such as cherries and cherries, kiwifruit and kiwifruit, potato and potato, tomato and tomato, raspberry and raspberry, liuding and orange, passion fruit and passionflower, guava and guava……

Alright, let us return to fengli and boluo. "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges; grown north of the Huai River they are trifoliate oranges." Fengli and boluo are merely different names. In the end, it is still commercial interests at work. If you take it seriously, you lose.

Personally, I think if you want to call it fengli, call it fengli; if you want to call it boluo, call it boluo. As long as it is tasty, that is enough:)

Finally, here is a chart of the differences between boluo and fengli