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Title
Lychee fruit The Sweetest Treat #297240102
Description
Lychee, (Litchi chinensis), evergreen tree of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), grown for its edible fruit. Lychee is native to Southeast Asia and has been a favourite fruit of the Cantonese since ancient times. The fruit is usually eaten fresh but can also be canned or dried. The flavour of the fresh pulp is aromatic and musky, and the dried pulp is acidic and very sweet. Lychee is of local importance throughout much of Southeast Asia and is grown commercially in China and India. Its introduction into the Western world came when it reached Jamaica in 1775. The first lychee fruits in Floridaâwhere the tree has attained commercial importanceâare said to have ripened in 1916. To a lesser extent the tree has been cultivated around the Mediterranean, in South Africa, and in Hawaii.