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carambola, (Averrhoa carambola), also called star fruit, woody plant of the wood sorrel family (Oxalidaceae) and its edible fruit, native to tropical Asia and extensively cultivated in tropical areas. Barely ripe carambola has a verjuicelike sharpness. As it ripens, it acquires notes of pear, melon, and gooseberry, with a balance of flavours that is lightly sweet and sour. The fruit is often consumed raw or as a juice or candied in sugar syrup. Pastry chefs use the fruit for the decorative five-pointed stars that it can be sliced into. In the United States, some winemakers produce crisp white wines from its juice.