Lychee

Ornamental shade tree with dense, evergreen canopy reaching 15-20m height. Attractive bronze-red new foliage matures to glossy dark green. Creates tropical ambiance in warm climate gardens. Excellent specimen tree for large properties, parks, and street plantings in frost-free areas.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, lychee seed (Li Zhi He) treats digestive disorders, hernias, and testicular pain. The fruit peel used for throat infections and diarrhea. Rich in vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. Excessive consumption may cause 'lychee disease' - hypoglycemia in undernourished individuals.

Sweet, translucent white flesh with floral notes eaten fresh or in desserts, cocktails, and preserves. Popular in sorbets, jellies, and Asian cuisine. Canned lychees widely available. Dried lychees (lychee nuts) have intense, raisin-like sweetness. Seeds toxic if consumed raw.

Native to subtropical forests of southern China and Southeast Asia. Requires warm, humid conditions with cool, dry winters for flowering. Important nectar source for bees producing prized lychee honey. Fruit attracts birds and bats. Host plant for several moth species.

Litchi chinensis - evergreen tree with compound leaves of 4-8 leaflets, leathery and glossy. Small yellowish flowers in terminal panicles. Distinctive bumpy, red-pink fruit 2.5-4cm diameter with thin, rough skin. Single brown seed surrounded by translucent aril.

Heavy, hard wood with fine grain used locally for furniture and construction in native regions. Not commercially significant as timber due to tree's value for fruit production. Wood density approximately 0.85 g/cm3. Limited availability restricts use to specialty items.

Cultivated for over 2,000 years with first mention in Chinese literature from 1059 CE. The favorite fruit of Emperor Xuanzong's concubine Yang Guifei, who had fresh lychees delivered by horse relay. World's most expensive lychee variety 'Guiwei' can sell for over $70 per pound.