litchi chinensis

[Carmellabita]

Chinese tree cultivated especially in Philippines and India for its edible fruit; sometimes placed in genus Nephelium

[Tina]

Lychee (US: LEE-chee; UK: LIE-chee; Litchi chinensis; Chinese: 荔枝; pinyin: lìzhī; Jyutping: lai6 zi1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nāi-chi) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae.
It is a tropical tree native to China (Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, and Hainan), India (Assam and the Andaman Islands), Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia (including Borneo), Indonesia (Java, Borneo, and Western New Guinea), the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The tree has been introduced into Pakistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, the Eastern Himalayas, Mauritius, and Réunion. Cultivation in China is documented from the 11th century. China is the main producer of lychees, followed by Vietnam, India, other countries in Southeast Asia, other countries in the Indian subcontinent, Madagascar, 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.
Lychee seeds contain methylene cyclopropyl glycine which can cause hypoglycemia associated with outbreaks of encephalopathy in undernourished Indian and Vietnamese children who had consumed lychee fruit.

[Gregory]

Litchi chinensis, more commonly known as the lychee, is a tropical fruit tree native to the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of southeastern China. It belongs to the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. The evergreen tree can grow between 13 to 28 meters high and produces small, fragrant white flowers. The fruit it bears is rounded, covered in a red, roughly-textured rind that is inedible but easily removed. The inside consists of translucent white flesh that is juicy and sweet, encasing a single glossy brown nut-like seed. This fruit is eaten fresh or used in various culinary dishes and beverages.