The label problem, dealt with first
In Singapore and much of Malaysia, the durian sold under the name D101 is often not the durian officially registered as D101. It is D168, registered in 1989, best known as Mas Muar and also called Hajah Hasmah. Sellers and growers describe the substitution as common, so many people who believe they have eaten D101 have eaten D168 instead.
The true D101 is a different, older variety: Bangkok Tree 16, registered in 1970 from the Department of Agriculture’s collection at Serdang, Selangor (DurianPro). Almost nobody buying “D101” at a stall has tasted it. So the real comparison is not D101 against D24. It is D168 Mas Muar, sold under a borrowed name, against D24, one of the oldest clones on the register.
D24 carries no such identity problem. We have not found it sold under another variety’s name.
What D24 actually is
D24, or Sultan, is one of the oldest clones on Malaysia’s durian register, registered on 30 November 1937 and traced to Bukit Merah in Perak, according to the Department of Agriculture. The department puts a D24 at 1.0 to 1.8kg, with a thin husk and pale yellow flesh. It also lists a spine-free patch at the base about the size of a 5 sen coin, which helps tell it from Musang King and its star pattern at the base. See the full write-up on D24 for every identification marker.
XO is not a separate clone and is not really part of this comparison. One orchard worker quoted by Kosmo calls it a variation of D24, and it is known for a slightly alcoholic taste. If a stall lists XO with its own D number, that is a mistake, not a different fruit.
What is actually sold as D101
D168, the fruit doing D101’s job at most stalls, was registered in 1989 and is best known as Mas Muar, from Muar in Johor. Specialty Produce describes Mas Muar as medium to large, 16 to 20 centimetres across and round to oval, and its entry for durian sold as 101 describes a dark green husk with long, conical, brown-tipped spines and a small star-like pattern at the base. None of that helps you at the point of sale if the seller has already decided to call it D101. It only matters once you check the fruit yourself, rather than trusting the label. Full detail is in the D101 write-up, including why the mix-up happens so often.
Flesh, texture and the sweet-to-bitter axis
Taste is where most D101 vs D24 comparisons focus, so here is what the sources actually say about each fruit.
Specialty Produce’s entry for durian sold as 101 describes smooth, creamy, custard-like flesh, soft and paste-like without being watery. Its Mas Muar entry describes the flesh as creamy but slightly fibrous, firm and dry, and the taste as “a candy-like, honeyed sweetness followed by a slightly bitter, lingering aftertaste”.
The Department of Agriculture describes D24 flesh as sweet, rich, firm and fine-textured, with a slight bitterness.
On bitterness, then, the sources put the two close together: both sweet first, both only slightly bitter. We have not found a source that reliably separates them by taste, so the base and husk markers below are a better guide than flavour.
| D24 (Sultan) | Sold as “D101” (usually D168, Mas Muar) | |
|---|---|---|
| Registered | 1937 | 1989 |
| Origin | Bukit Merah, Perak | Muar, Johor |
| Flesh colour | Pale yellow | Golden yellow, sometimes shading to orange |
| Bitterness | Slightly bitter | Slightly bitter, lingering aftertaste |
| Texture | Firm, fine-textured | Described as both soft and paste-like and firm and dry |
| Base marker | Spine-free patch about the size of a 5 sen coin | Small star-like pattern |
How to tell what you are being sold
Ask the seller directly which fruit is in front of you: true D101 (Bangkok Tree 16), D168 (Mas Muar), or D24 (Sultan). Many will answer honestly once asked plainly, because “D101” has become a market category as much as a registered clone name.
Beyond asking, check the base and the husk yourself. D24’s tell is the small spine-free patch at the base, about the size of a 5 sen coin. For fruit sold as 101, Specialty Produce describes a small star-like pattern at the base instead. Flesh colour is not reliable evidence for either fruit, and colour alone proves nothing about the clone. The guide to choosing durian covers ripeness checks that apply whichever variety you land on.
Price: rough positioning
Season swings the actual numbers around too much to quote a fixed figure here, and we have not found a source that compares D24 and D168 prices directly. See the 2026 season update for current pricing, and always compare whole-fruit prices with whole-fruit prices, not with packed flesh.
Who should buy which
If you want a soft, honey-sweet introduction to durian, the fruit sold as D101 (in practice, D168 Mas Muar) does that job well. There is nothing wrong with buying it on those terms once you know what it actually is.
If you want a fruit with a genuine, long paper trail, buy D24 and ask for it by name. We have not found it sold under another variety’s name, so the label is more likely to mean what it says.
Either way, the two fruit are not really competing for the same buyer. One is chosen for its soft sweetness, the other for being a known, older clone that still holds up decades on. See the full durian type register for how both fit alongside the rest of Malaysia’s clones, or the comparison index for other match-ups worth checking before you buy.