Litchi chinensis Sonner.

ലിച്ചി

Family : SAPINDACEAE

Synonym : Nephelium litchi Camb.

Common Names : Litchi

Flowering Period : January-May

Distribution : Native of China

Habitat : Cultivated

Uses : Fruit edible - raw or cooked. The dried fruits, called lychee nuts, have a distinctive smoky flavour and are widely eaten in China. The fruit, its peel and the seed are used in traditional medicine; decoctions of the root, bark and flowers are used as a gargle to alleviate throat ailments. The fruit peel is used in the treatment of diarrhoea. Seeds are used as an anodyne in neuralgic disorders. The tree is sometimes grown to provide shade. The bark contains tannin. The wood is very durable and is said to be nearly indestructible, although it is brittle and has few uses.

Key Characters :

Medium sized tree, 15 m high; branching nearly from base; bark grey, nearly smooth; branchlets lenticellate. Leaves alternate, pinnate; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, base obtuse, glabrous and shining above and glaucous beneath. Panicles terminal. Flowers 0.3-0.5 cm across. Petals absent. Stamens 6-8, exserted; filaments slender. Drupe fleshy with a brown muricated rind turning red; seeds shining brown.