From Fairchild
Tropical Botanic Garden
Virtual
Herbarium Database
Lychee
Lychee
chinensis
Lychee
has more than a two thousand year tradition of cultivation in China.
Countless treatises and legends surround it. The tree is a beautiful
ornamental, and when in fruit it speaks to the bounty of nature. The
fruit are striking shades of red and yellow, with a delicate, sweet and
aromatic flesh. It is indeed a fruit for the Emperors.
The lychee (Litchi
chinensis)
belongs to the Sapindacea family. This subtropical tree is native to
South China. It can reach a height of 30-50 feet, producing an
attractive canopy of bright green leaves.
Lychee Florida growers
raise two main varieties: the early-season ‘Mauritius’ and
the late-season ‘Brewster’. (In August 1992 most of the
crops in Homestead, FL were devastated by Hurricane Andrew, which
stripped the trees of limbs and leaves). Afterwards, growers replanted
up to 500 acres producing almost half a million pounds of fruit/year.
If you see lychees while driving around, stop to taste this wonderful
fruit. They are available from the last week of May through the end of
June.
Lychee fruits are somewhat round and pleasantly sweet.
Most Americans know lychees only as syrupy canned fruit, missing the
succulence and fragrance of this South Chinese delicacy. Lychee are
normally eaten fresh, however, they can be frozen with or without the
shell. They are rich in Potassium and Vitamin C.
To eat a
lychee, peel the thin, warty leathery and spiky skin, pull the
translucent white flesh from the glossy brown seed, and savor the
texture and flavor reminiscent of a Muscat grape.
Lychee is among the best trees for South Florida landscapes. Available
cultivars include:
'Kwai Mai Pink',
a small tree, with consistent production in South Florida, produces
small but delicious pink fruit.
'Bengal'
is a large tree best suited to a larger garden. The fruiting is not
consistent, but the large, dark red fruit are so flavorful they're
worth waiting for.
'Emperor',
is a small tree that grows best in acid soils. The extremely large
fruit are superb.
'Early Large Red'
produces excellent fruit with firm, sweet, flavorful flesh early in the
season.
'Brewster'
and 'Mauritius' are the cultivars most often grown in South Florida.
Air-layered trees are preferred to seedlings, since they produce fruit
much sooner.
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