The Lychee (pronounced /ˈliːtʃiː/[1]; Litchi chinensis), also spelled Litchi and Lichu, is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. It is a tropical fruit tree. It is primarily found in China, India, Madagascar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, southern Taiwan, northern Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Southern Africa. It is a fragranced fruit with a sweet taste. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree, reaching 15–20 m tall, with alternate pinnate leaves, each leaf 15–25 cm long, with 2-8 lateral leaflets 5–10 cm long; the terminal leaflet is absent. The newly emerging young leaves are a bright coppery red at first, before turning green as they expand to full size. The flowers are small, greenish-white or yellowish-white, produced in panicles up to 30 cm long. The fruit is a drupe, 3–4 cm long and 3 cm in diameter. The outside is covered by a pink-red, roughly-textured rind that is inedible but easily removed. They are eaten in many different dessert dishes. The inside consists of a layer of sweet, translucent white flesh, rich in vitamin C, with a texture somewhat similar to that of a grape only much less moist. The edible flesh consists of a highly developed aril enveloping the seed. The center contains a single glossy brown nut-like seed, 2 cm long and 1–1.5 cm in diameter. The seed, similar to a buckeye seed, is not poisonous but should not be eaten. The fruit matures from July to October, about 100 days after flowering.
I loved this Bubai, not only for the photo but also for the lichi. It was something I learned from my friends when I was in Spain, and I told about it when I got back here to Turkey... Nice surprise to see it from you. Lichi is not known at all here, thanks to you I can now show it to people. ;)
It is sensual! Simmiler to sensuality of an Omelet, of an egg, of the bread... From you I come to know lychee too is so nicely sensual, ....Bubai, a good artist, who has documented it. Thanks and regqrds;amitava
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{K:23981} 5/28/2009
