Lychee (Litchi)

Description

Lychee (variously spelled litchi, liechee, liche, lizhi or li zhi, or lichee) (Litchi chinensis; Chinese: 荔枝; pinyin: lìzhī) is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is a tropical tree native to the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of China, where cultivation is documented from 1059 AD. China is the main producer of lychees, followed by India, other countries in Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and South Africa. A tall evergreen tree, the lychee bears small fleshy fruits. The outside of the fruit is pink-red, roughly textured and inedible, covering sweet flesh eaten in many different dessert dishes. Since the perfume-like flavor is lost in the process of canning, the fruit is usually eaten fresh. Lychee contains many phytochemicals. The seeds have been found to contain methylenecyclopropylglycine which can cause hypoglycemia, while outbreaks of encephalopathy in Indian and Vietnamese children have also been linked to its consumption. Lychee is a medium-sized tree that can reach a height of 15 to 20 m 13 . The general silhouette is fairly round, the foliage is dense and well covered. It has alternate leaves of 15 to 25 cm long. They are paripennial, which means that they are formed of an even number of leaflets and that there are none in the terminal position. The leaflets, two to eight in number per leaf, each measure 5 to 10 cm in length. The upper part of the leaf blade is of a rather dark green color and varnished, the underside is rather greyish and of a matt appearance. Before reaching this full-development coloring, the young leaves have a bright red coppery red color and then a soft green color. The flowers are small in size (4 to 5 mm in diameter each) and are pinkish-white to greenish-white in color. They are formed of a small ovarian disc and nectarifer with two carpels surmounted by a crown of erect stamens, usually six in number. Fertilization is ensured by insects, mainly by bees. The flowers are grouped in upright panicles up to 30 cm long. The trunk is often branched at low ground height. The bark is smooth but the surface of the trunk is very irregular, ribbed or fluted. The lychee bears fleshy fruits that mature in 80–112 days depending on climate, location, and cultivar. Fruits vary in shape from round to ovoid to heart-shaped, up to 5 cm long and 4 cm wide (2.0 in × 1.6 in), weighing approximately 20 g. The thin, tough skin is green when immature, ripening to red or pink-red, and is smooth or covered with small sharp protuberances roughly textured. The rind is inedible but easily removed to expose a layer of translucent white fleshy aril with a floral smell and a fragrant, sweet flavor. The skin turns brown and dry when left out after harvesting. The fleshy, edible portion of the fruit is an aril, surrounding one dark brown inedible seed that is 1 to 3.3 cm long and 0.6 to 1.2 cm wide (0.39–1.30 by 0.24–0.47 in). Some cultivars produce a high percentage of fruits with shriveled aborted seeds known as 'chicken tongues'. These fruit typically have a higher price, due to having more edible flesh. Since the perfume-like flavor is lost in the process of canning, the fruit is usually eaten fresh.