Lychee
Lychee or litchi trees produce their tasty fruits during a very short period each year, but canned fruits can be enjoyed throughout the year.
Lychee is an important fruit tree in south China and south-east Asia.
Names
Scientific
Litchi chinensis
Synonym
Nephelium litchi
English
Laichi
Lichu
Linchee
Litchi
Lychee
Dutch
Lychee
Spanish
Lichi
French
Letchi
Litchi
German
Chinesische Haselnuss
Liebesfrucht
Litchibaum
Litsch
Litschi
Litschibaum
Litschipflaume
Lychee
Italian
Ciliegia della Cina
Litchi
Other
Alupag
Taxonomy
Genus
Litchi
Family
Sapindaceae
Order
Sapindales
Basic information and facts
Origin:
Southern China, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia
Distribution:
Cultivated in many parts of the world with tropical or sub-tropical climate.
Evergreen or deciduous:
An evergreen tree.
Flowers:
The small flowers are greenish-white or yellowish-white and are produced in panicles of up to 30 cm long.
Fruits:
Lychee fruits are 3-4 cm long and about 3 cm in diameter. The fruit is covered by a red, roughly-textured skin. This peel is inedible but can be easily removed. The inside of the fruit consists of sweet, translucent white flesh surrounding a single glossy brown nut-like seed. This sweet flesh is eaten. The seed (about 2 cm long and 1–1.5 cm in diameter) is poisonous and should not be eaten.
Leaves:
Lychee has alternate pinnate leathery leaves. Each leaf 15–25 cm long, with 2-8 lateral leaflets that are 5–10 cm long. Young leaves have a bright coppery red color at first. Later they turn shiny bright green.
Climate and weather:
Lychee is adapted to warm to cool subtropical areas. It requires seasonal temperature variations for good flowering and fruiting. A certain amount of chilling is necessary for flower bud development, but warm, humid summers are favorable for flowering and fruit development.
Pollination:
Bees and flies.
Height:
Can reach 12-15 or even 20 meter but often smaller.
Type of soil:
Requires a well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter.
Preferred pH:
pH from 5.5 to 7.5 is acceptable. Prefers soils with pH
5.5-6.5.
Moisture:
The tree does not tolerate standing water, but it requires a very moist soil.
Light:
Needs full sun.
Growth rate:
Slow growing tree.
Spacing (close range)
6 meter
Spacing (wide range)
8 meter
Insect pests:
Mites, scales, aphids
Other pests:
Birds, bats
Diseases:
?
Fruit development:
The fruit matures 100 – 140 days after flowering.
Harvesting:
Fruit are harvested by hand. They must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree. Fruits can be kept in refrigerator for several weeks. The skin will get brown in color but the taste remains ok. At room temperature the fruits can be kept only few days.
Uses:
Fruits are eaten fresh as a snack or dessert fruit. Fruits are also canned for export and are sometimes used to make lychee wine.
Proverbs and Quotes
- “Beneath these green mountains where spring rules the year, the irbarbutus and loquat in season appear, and feasting on lychee, 300 a day, I shouldn’t mind staying eternally here.”
(Su Shih, Chinese poet)
Did you know that?
- Lychee was already an important fruit in China over 4000 years ago.
Crop categories
Fruits
Food crops
Tropical crops
Pictures
Lychee
Lychees
Unripe lychee fruits in tree