Herb. No. 222 · Sapindaceae
Southern Chinese origin; a subtropical orchard from Guangdong to Madagascar.
Native · East Asia
Native Also grown
LegalCautionplant
Lychee
Litchi chinensis
A Chinese soapberry with a red shell — peel it, eat the glass-white aril, spit the seed, and do not make a meal of unripe fruit.
Lychee is a southern Chinese tree. Traditional use is as ripe fresh fruit. Culinary ripe arils are the path. Unripe lychee eaten as a staple on an empty stomach has caused outbreaks of hypoglycemia where the fruit is a famine food — that is a poverty-and-unripe story, not a ripe dessert. The seed is not food. Rambutan and longan are cousins on nearby plates.
Flavor
Floral, grape, a little rose. Canned in syrup is a different, heavier fruit.
Parts used
Ripe aril
Helpful
- A true perfume when ripe and fresh
- Peels like a toy
Cautions
- Unripe as a staple is a documented harm
- The seed is not food
- A short season, a fussy tree