Lychee tree
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Lychee tree ( Litchi chinensis ), ripe fruits on the tree |
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The lychee or Litchibaum ( Litchi chinensis ) is the only type of plant genus Litchi within the family of the soap tree plants (Sapindaceae). The fruit of Litchi chinensis also called lychee or Litsch , often Lychee from English ( Chinese 荔枝 , Pinyin Lizhi ), other designations are Chinese hazelnut , Litschipflaume or love fruit . They are used as fruit .
description
Appearance, bark and leaf
The lychee tree grows as an evergreen tree and often reaches heights of 10 meters, sometimes about 15 meters and higher. It grows relatively slowly and forms a round, wide and high tree crown . The above-ground parts of the plant have single or two-armed hairs ( trichomes , indument), but no glandular scales. The bark is grayish-black. The stem-round twigs have a brownish-red bark that is striped, smooth or densely covered with white lenticels .
When budding, the leaves are bronze-colored. The alternate and spiral or sometimes partially, especially near the inflorescences, almost opposite arranged leaves have a total length of 10 to 25 cm or more and are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The more or less petiolate 1.2 to 7 cm long petioles are swollen at their base and somewhat hollow; they are bald or bald early and are often pustular with lenticels. The leaf blade is pinnate in pairs. On the leaf rhachis the one to four, usually two or three pairs of leaflets are more or less arranged opposite one another. The 7 to 8 mm long stalks of the pinnate leaves are deeply furrowed at the top and swollen near their base. The thin to normal leathery leaflets are 6 to 15 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide and lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, sometimes elliptical-lanceolate; they have a base that is the same to sometimes unequal pointed, more or less narrowed on both sides and a mostly short to long, more or less abruptly tailed or blunt to pointed-pointed, sometimes rounded to slightly edged upper end. The smooth to wavy edge of the pinnate leaves is slightly bent back. The smooth, frosted pinnate leaves, shiny on the deep green upper side and matt on the underside of the leaves, are glabrous, with tiny hairs on the underside rather tightly pressed. There is pinnate veins . The median nerve is narrowly furrowed at the top. The lateral veins, which are indistinct on both sides of the leaflets and are slightly raised on the underside, are straight to curved, often run wavy or zigzag and can unite at the leaflet margin. A coarse network nerve can be seen between the lateral nerves. There are no stipules .
Inflorescence and flower
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In China, the flowering time is in spring. Litchi chinensis is duodichogamous and false polygamous . The three types of flowers; male, with pistillode or female, with small, about six staminodes, or the only male are functionally unisexual. The mostly terminal or rarely lateral, with a length of up to 75 cm, relatively large, well-branched, thyrsoid inflorescences each contain many flowers of the different flower types. In an inflorescence, the male flowers usually open first. The inflorescence axes are hairy golden or rusty tomentose. The carrier and cover sheets (bracts and Brakteolen) are small; the bracts are triangular with a length of 0.5 to 2 mm. The 2 to 4 mm long peduncles are usually thin or sometimes short and stocky.
The fragrant, whitish to greenish flowers are radial symmetry . The four or five sepals, which are tightly pressed together on the outside and inside, are tomentose-haired in gold color, are grown together in a cup-shaped manner and open early. When the cup is fully open, it is 3 to 5 mm in diameter. The four or five equal calyx lobes are about a third to half as long as the calyx tube. Petals are missing. The relatively small, ring-shaped disc is smooth and has no appendages. In the male or functionally male flowers there are usually six or seven, sometimes eight stamens and protrude above the calyx. With a length of about 4 mm, the thin and thread-like, free stamens are hairy to varying degrees. The bald anthers are elliptical with a length of about 1 mm with a pointed to edged upper end. In the female flowers the pistil is 1.5 to 1 mm long. Usually two, rarely three carpels are three-lobed to a usually two, rarely, usually two, rarely dreikammerigen ovary grown. The short-stalked, upper ovary is heart-shaped with a dense warty surface. There is only one basal ovule per ovary chamber . The stem -round style inserted between the ovary lobes is shorter than the ovary. The scar usually has two, rarely three, spread or folded back scar flaps. For pollination are insects required ( Entomophilie ).
Fruit and seeds
There are two to thirty fruits in a hanging, loose fruit cluster. The fruits are special stone fruits (camara). The fruits are more or less spherical, ellipsoidal or egg-shaped with a diameter of 2 to 3.5 cm. The relatively thin, leathery - or if it is dry, hard - pericarp (shell) is pyramidal-warty and can be prickly, rarely almost smooth. When ripe, the pericarp turns pink to reddish and with older fruits it turns brown. The endocarp is bald and easy to separate from the aril (not adherent, fused). The inedible seed is ellipsoidal with a size of 2 cm × 1.5 cm. The basal hilum is circular with a diameter of 6 to 7 mm. The seed coat (testa) is (sometimes blackish) brown, shiny, smooth, bare and leathery. The embryo is erect. The lower half of the seed is completely or completely surrounded by an aril . The edible, when fresh, up to 5 mm thick aril is fleshy, bluish-white, pearly to light yellow or slightly pink, translucent, firm, juicy, sweet and with a relatively strong smell; it is sometimes called “pulp” because of its use. The peel develops first, then the seed, and finally the aril. Depending on the variety and location, it takes about three months from pollination to fruit ripening. In China, the fruits ripen in summer.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 28, 30.
Systematics and original distribution
The original home of the lychee tree has not been clarified as it has been cultivated for a very long time. The center of the original range of Litchi chinensis is assumed to be between the 23rd and 27th parallel north in the subtropical part of southern China, northern Vietnam and Malaysia .
With Litchi chinensis as a type species , Pierre Sonnerat established the genus Litchi in 1782 in Voyage aux Indes Orientales , 3, p. 255 . A synonym for Litchi Sonn. is Euphoria Comm. ex Juss.
Litchi chinensis is the only way the genus Litchi in the subfamily Sapindoideae within the family of Sapindaceae .
There are about three subspecies of the species Litchi chinensis :
- Litchi chinensis Sun. subsp. chinensis (Syn .: Dimocarpus lichi Lour ., Litchi chinensis var. euspontanea H.H.Hsue , Nephelium chinense (Sonn.) Druce , Nephelium litchi Cambess. , Scytalia chinensis (Sonn.) Gaertn. , Euphoria litchi Desfont. . illeg nom. , Nephelium lit-chi (Desfont.) Cambess. Nom. Illeg.): Safe natural sites for Litchi chinensis Sonn. subsp. chinensis have been found in the two Chinese provinces southwest of Guangdong (Xuwen) and Hainan . It does best in hot and humid climates with at least one cool and dry period, but without frost. It is mostly found at lower altitudes along still or flowing waters. A form called "Mountain Lychee" thrives on dry hills.
- Litchi chinensis subsp. philippinensis (Radlk.) Leenh. (Syn .: Euphoria didyma Blanco , Dimocarpus didyma Radlk. Nom. Illeg., Litchi philippinensis Radlk. , Litchi philippinensis f. Genuina Radlk. Nom. Illeg., Litchi philippinensis Radlk. Ex Whitford nom. Nud.): She comes to the Philippines only in Luzon , Mindanao , Sibuyan and Samar and in southeastern New Guinea. It thrives at altitudes between 0 and 500 meters.
- Litchi chinensis subsp. javensis Leenh. (Syn .: Litchi chinensis Sonn. Glomeriflora Radlk. , Litchi chinensis Sonn. Var. Glomeriflora ): It is only known from cultivated specimens in a few locations on Java . In contrast to the nominate form, it copes well with tropical, ever-humid climates. It is cultivated at altitudes up to 250 meters.
History of Cultivation
It is believed that the lychee tree has been cultivated since around 1500 BC. Peoples of Malay descent have since intensified the selection of fruit varieties. The lychee tree has been cultivated in China for more than 2000 years. The oldest mention and illustration was made in a Chinese book from AD 1059. From China, varieties reached Myanmar at the end of the 17th century. It was introduced in India and Thailand 100 years later. The lychee tree reached Madagascar and Mauritius around 1870, and it was introduced to Hawaii by Chinese traders in 1873. From India, the lychee tree reached Florida between 1870 and 1880 and was introduced to California in 1897. Chinese migrants may have brought the lychee tree to Australia in 1954, and between 1930 and 1940 it reached what is now Israel.
use
Growing areas
Today the lychee tree is grown worldwide in subtropical climates. Growing countries include China (especially in southern China in the provinces of southern Fujian and Guangdong), Taiwan , Vietnam , India , Cambodia , South Africa , Madagascar , Australia , Israel , Mexico , Brazil , Hawaii and the southern states of the USA.
Today, China, Taiwan, Thailand, India, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and Australia are the main growing countries. In southern China today, the lychee tree thrives between the 31st and 18th degrees of latitude north and the 101st and 120th degree of longitude east; the economically important cultivation area there is between 19 ° and 24 ° north latitude. Since the 1980s, lychee fruit has been a major industrial sector in southern China with 320,000 employees. In 1999, around 950,000 tons of lychee fruit were produced on 530,000 hectares in China. In India the main cultivation areas are in the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, in addition Tripura, Orissa, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and the Nilgiri hills are named as cultivation areas. 429,000 tons of lychees are produced on 56,200 hectares in India. In Thailand the main cultivation areas are in the northern, subtropical part, mainly in the provinces Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan and Samut Songkhram. In 1999, 85,083 tons of lychees were produced on 22,200 hectares in Thailand. Although the lychee tree was not introduced to Australia until 1954 and the plantations were mainly planted in the 1970s, by the beginning of the 21st century around 350 growers were producing around 3,000 tons annually. The main Australian growing areas are in Queensland and northern New South Wales .
Growing conditions
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The varieties of the lychee tree are mainly adapted to the warm subtropics. The best growing conditions are in areas with short, dry, frost-free winters and long, hot summers with high levels of precipitation and high humidity. Low yields are the result of not enough cold or dry winters, which result in insufficient flower induction . The flower induction takes place only when cool temperatures prevail at the beginning of the new shoot.
The lychee tree thrives on very different soils . Most often, the cultivation takes place on alluvial soils , which are also mostly relatively moist. The best pH is between 6 and 7.
Traditionally, lychee plantations are planted at intervals of 9 or 10 × 12 meters or 12 × 12 meters, with around 70 to 80 specimens per hectare, such plantations give high yields after 10 or 15 years, but there is a lot of land in the first few years wasted. Newer plantations in Australia are laid out at intervals of 6 × 8 meters or 4 × 6 meters or 7 × 3 meters, with around 200 to 600 specimens per hectare. In China, some very densely planted orchards contain 1,500 specimens per hectare.
Young trees are sensitive to frost and wind.
Inadequate nutrient supply and insufficient water supply often have a negative effect on yield. For example, some Australian plantations are watered two to three times a week. However, watering every seven to ten days is more common.
The litchi seeds can only germinate for four to five days. It takes 5 to 12 or even 25 years from the seedling to the first fruit formation. For this reason, lychee trees are not cultivated from seeds for commercial cultivation, but sowing is used to select new varieties or to obtain rootstocks .
New fruit trees are usually grown using cuttings . Grafting on seedlings is also common. One method that is used to safely grow young plants through vegetative reproduction is through so-called mossing . With these vegetative propagation methods one obtains genetically identical material of the mother plant and thus the desired selected properties. This would not be the case with propagation via seeds.
One method in some growers to minimize sprouting of non-flowering branches and to increase the fruit yield is ringing, where 1.5 to 4 mm wide strips are cut into the bark in a circle or spiral around the trunk.
Production issues
In tall fruit trees, fruit-eating birds and bats lead to reduced yields. In many areas, fruit popping is a problem.
Litchi trees are attacked by a large number of animal pests. There are a number of fungal pathogens, but none are a major threat to cultivation.
Income
In the different growing countries, the average yield ranges from 1 to 15 tons of lychee fruits per hectare.
The yields per fruit tree depend on the variety, the cultivation method, the age of the specimen, the weather in the year in question and the availability of pollinating insects. Here are some examples: In India a 5 year old tree produces around 500 fruits, a 20 year old tree 4000 to 5000 fruits and thus 72.5 to 150 kg, in exceptional cases up to 455 kg per year. A fruit tree in Florida produced 544 kg. In China there are reports of a 680 kg harvest. In South Africa a 25 year old tree carries an average of 272 kg every good year.
sorts
About 200 varieties are known in China, but only eight of them ('Baila', 'Baitangying', 'Heiye', 'Feizixiao', 'Guiwei', 'Gwiwei', 'Nuomici', 'Huaizhi') are grown on larger areas . In Taiwan, 90 percent of production is made with the 'Hap Ip' variety. The main varieties in India are 'Shahi', 'Bombai', 'China', 'Deshi', 'Calcutta', 'Rose Scented' and 'Mazaffarpur'. A total of around 40 varieties are offered in Australia, but only five of them ('May Pink', 'Fay Zee Siu', 'Souey Tung', 'Salathiel', 'Wai Chee') are grown in large quantities. In South Africa only the 'Kwai Mi' variety is used for commercial cultivation.
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Lychee as a fruit
The taste of lychee fruits depends heavily on the degree of ripeness. The quality of the harvest has been standardized in the main cultivation areas and only whole fruit bunches with ripe fruits are harvested and then individually packaged. The transport should take place with sufficiently high humidity and at temperatures of around 5 ° C, otherwise the fruits will dry out and turn brown. Lychee is a type of fruit that has become increasingly popular in western industrialized countries over the past few decades. Around 20,000 tonnes of fresh lychees reach the European market, around half of them to France, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.
The lychee fruits can be enjoyed raw. The aril is eaten. The seed is not edible. Lychee fruits should be eaten soon after purchase. Lychee fruits are among the most commonly preserved fruits. They are peeled and pitted and preserved in sugar syrup, mainly canned. Lychee juice is also traded. Lychee fruit jelly is also made. Dried lychee fruits are versatile. Lychee fruits are also fermented to make lychee wine.
| kJoule | Proteins | fat | Fiber | carbohydrates | of which sugar | Calcium | magnesium | phosphorus | vitamin C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 276 | 0.8 g | 0.4 g | 1.3 g | 16.5 g | 15.2 g | 5 mg | 10 mg | 31 mg | 72 mg |
100 g of fresh lychees (with their peel) contain 40 mg of vitamin C (for comparison: 100 g of kiwis contain around 70 mg; the daily requirement of an adult is 100 mg according to the recommendation of the German Nutrition Society ).
Unripe lychee fruits naturally contain hypoglycine A or methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG), both of which can trigger hypoglycaemia ( low blood sugar levels) . In the vicinity of the northern Indian city of Muzaffarpur , there were 390 cases of encephalopathy in children with high mortality (30%) in May and June 2014 . The diseases were attributed to hypoglycaemia caused by the heavy consumption of unripe lychee fruits with a simultaneous poor nutritional situation.
Wood
The lychee tree provides dearly traded wood that is hard and durable. The wood, considered to be almost indestructible, is used as construction and wagner wood as well as in carpentry.
Medical use
In Chinese medicine , for example, the fruit, the peel and the seeds of Litchi chinensis are used in many ways. The medical effects were also examined for conventional medicine . The decoction of the roots, the bark and the flowers is used for gargling.
Randomly selected detailed information: In investigations in this millennium, the ingredients of the pericarp are characterized, which contains many phenolic components with antioxidant properties.
Honey extraction
In China and Florida, for example, large quantities of honey are extracted from the lychee plantations.
Ornamental plant
The lychee tree has a decorative effect in spring with its conspicuously large inflorescences and the later red color of the ripening fruits. That is why it is also used as an ornamental wood in parks and gardens.
Common names in other languages
For Litchi chinensis Sonn. there are common names in many languages :
- Burmese : Kyet mouk, Lam yai, Lin chi
- Chinese : 荔枝 Li zhi (Li chi), 荔枝 果 Li zhi guo
- Danish : Kinesisk blomme, Litchiblomme
- English : Chinese cherry, Leechee, Lichee, Litchi, Lychee
- French : Cerisier de Chine, Letchi (Réunion), Litchi, Litchi de Chine, Litchie, Litchier, Pied de letchi (Réunion), Quenepe chinois (Haiti)
- Greek : Λίτσι Litsi
- Japanese : レ イ シ Reishi, 荔枝 Reishi, レ イ シ の 果 実
- Khmer : Kuléén
- Korean : 리치
- Lao : Ngèèw
- Malaysian : Kalengkeng (Indonesia), Kelengkang, Laici, Lici (Indonesia), Litsi (Indonesia) Klengkeng (Indonesia), Mengkuris (Borneo)
- Dutch : Lychee
- Portuguese : Lechia, Lichia, Litchia
- Russian : Личи китайская lychee kitaiskaja, Личи личи lychee litchi, Личи китайское lychee kitaiskoje, Лиджи китайское Lidschi kitaiskoje, Нефелиум Nefelium, Нефелиум личи Nefelium litchi
- Swedish : Kinesiska plommon, Litchiplommon
- Spanish : Lichi
- Tagalog : Alupag-amo, Letsias, Licheas
- Thai : ลิ้นจี่ Linchi (Lin cii, Lin cee), ลิ้นจี่ ป่า Lin chi pa, สี รามัน Si raman (See raaman), สี รามัน ขาว Si raman khao
- Vietnamese : Cây vải, Giống vải, Ngan xanh, Quả vải, Tu hú, Vải
further reading
- Frederic Rosengarten Jr .: Litchi "Nuts". In: The book of edible nuts , Courier Corporation, New York 2004, pp. 299–301, ISBN 0-486-43499-0 , online at Books.Google.de, accessed on December 22, 2016. (Although this is a book about edible nuts, clarifies that lychee fruits do not contain nuts.)
swell
- Genus Litchi and species Litchi chinensis. At: Flora Malesiana . (Section description)
- Nianhe Xia, Paul A. Gadek: Sapindaceae : Litchi and Litchi chinensis. P. 6 - online with the same text as the printed work, In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (ed.): Flora of China. Volume 12: Hippocastanaceae through Theaceae. Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 2007, ISBN 978-1-930723-64-1 . (Section description)
- Minas K. Papademetriou, Frank J. Dent: Lychee Production in the Asia-Pacific Region. FAO report, April 2002.
- Julia F. Morton: Lychee. In: Fruits of warm climates , Miami, FL 1987, pp. 249-259.
- C. Menzel, Christopher M. Menzel, Geoff K. Waite: Litchi and longan: botany, production and uses. CABI, Wallingford et al. a., 2005, ISBN 0-85199-696-5 . Google Book Online.
- Yan Diczbalis: Farm and Forestry - Production and Marketing profile for Lychee (Litchi chinensis).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Nianhe Xia, Paul A. Gadek: Sapindaceae : Litchi und Litchi chinensis , p. 6 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Eds.): Flora of China , Volume 12 - Hippocastanaceae through Theaceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 2007, ISBN 978-1-930723-64 -1 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Julia F. Morton: Lychee. In: Fruits of warm climates. Miami 1987, pp. 249-259.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t genus Litchi and species Litchi chinensis ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Flora Malesiana . ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Edward F. Gilman, Dennis G. Watson: Litchi chinensis Lychee. 1993.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Yan Diczbalis: Farm and Forestry - Production and Marketing profile for Lychee (Litchi chinensis).
- ^ Randy C. Ploetz: Diseases of Tropical Fruit Crops. CABI, 2003, ISBN 0-85199-390-7 , p. 307.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Minas K. Papademetriou, Frank J. Dent: Lychee Production in the Asia-Pacific Region. FAO report, April 2002.
- ^ Litchi at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ^ A b Litchi in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ a b c Orwa u. a .: Litchi chinensis Sun. Sapindaceae - lychee, lichi. at: Agroforestry Database. 2009. (PDF; 507 kB)
- ↑ USDA Nutrition Data ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Aakash Shrivastava, Anil Kumar et al .: Association of acute toxic encephalopathy with litchi consumption in an outbreak in Muzaffarpur, India, 2014: a case-control study . In: The Lancet Global Health . January 30, 2017, doi : 10.1016 / S2214-109X (17) 30035-9 (English).
- ↑ W. Li, H. Liang, M. W. Zhang, R. F. Zhang, Y. Y. Deng, Z. C. Wei, Y. Zhang, X. J. Tang: Phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of litchi (Litchi Chinensis Sonn.) Fruit pericarp from different commercially available cultivars. In: Molecules. Volume 12, December 17, 2012, pp. 14954-14967, PMID 23247368 .
- ↑ P. Sarni-Manchado, E. Le Roux, C. Le Guernevé, Y. Lozano, V. Cheynier: Phenolic composition of litchi fruit pericarp. In: J. Agric. Food Chem. 48 (12), 2000, pp. 5995-6002, PMID 11312772 .
- ↑ Entry in Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database . ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
