Litchee Fruit Plants (Litchi Chinensis)

Lychee (Litchi Chinensis):

Common Names: Litchi, Lichi, Lychee

Botanical Name: Litchi Chinensis

General Information: This tree is native to South China, Malaysia, and northern Vietnam. It is an evergreen tree with pinnate leaves. The flowers grow on a terminal inflorescence with many panicles, each holding hundreds of small white, yellow, or green fragrant flowers. The fruits mature in 80–112 days, varying in shape and size. The skin is pink-red, rough-textured, and inedible, while the translucent white fleshy aril has a floral smell and sweet flavor.

Growth Characteristics:  This is a slow-growing, highly decorative, evergreen tree that is typically less than 15 m tall, occasionally reaching 28 m. It bears small fleshy sweet fruits with an outer pericarp enclosing white translucent pulp and a dark brown seed.

Fruit Characteristics: The fruits vary in shape from round to ovoid to heart-shaped. When immature, the skin is green, ripening to red or pink-red. The inedible thin, tough skin can be easily removed to expose a translucent white fleshy aril. The edible portion is the aril, which has a floral smell and a sweet flavor. Each fruit contains one dark brown inedible seed.

Nutritional and Medicinal Uses: Used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating stomach ulcers, diabetes, cough, diarrhea, and dyspepsia. Peel is used to treat diarrhea, and seeds are used for treating orchitis and neuralgic diseases.

Bloom Time/Fruiting: 3-4 Years.

Maintenance Required: Moderate.