A litchi tree is always green, its round canopy of leaves contributing to a year-round green landscape, and it is grown in gardens to appease the eyes as well as the appetites of its owners.
In ancient times, many high-ranking officials grew the litchi in their spacious gardens so they could present the fruit to friends and superiors. When the fruit ripens, the red clusters make the trees more beautiful. Many poems have been written in praise of the litchi.
The fruit is a near-round oval in shape, with a scaly rind. Between the rind and the translucent pulp is a layer like onion paper. When the litchi is peeled, this thin layer comes off together with the rind. When a host treats his guests to litchi, the rind is moved, but the pink "onion skin" layer is left intact. This calls for much skill.
The litchi has been a domestic fruit in China for at least 2,000 years. It was first described in books published in the Han Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, 618-917 A.D., a famous courtesan, Yang Kuei-fei, is described as liking litchi best of all fruits. Every year, officials in Kwangtung, where the fruit was grown, would send mounted couriers to dispatch the fruit to the royal court in the national capital, Changan, the present Sian in North China.
The litchi is considered by the Chinese to be one of the five finest fruits of the world. It is rich in protein, phosphates, iron...and vitamins C, B5, B2 and G.
A luxuriant cluster of litchi—Good enough to eat
Because it is sweet tasting and nutritious, it is eaten fresh and also made into wine. The most famous litchi wine of old China was Choukung Paisui Chiu, or literally, a wine for a man living to 100 years, suggesting its value as a man's tonic. But the Chinese also consider litchi a "heat-generating fruit." People are advised not to eat too many at a time because overeating can reputedly cause nose-bleeding and other upsets. The seeds, flowers, bark, and even the roots of the litchi tree are used in medicine.
The litchi is also growing in Hawaii, California, and Florida, from scions imported from China. Other countries producing litchis include Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Madagascar, South Africa, and Queensland State of Australia.
The litchi was brought to Taiwan by Fukien immigrants about 200 years ago. Before Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China by Japan after the Second World War, few litchi trees were found. Besides, the quality of the fruit was bad. In the early 1950s, the defunct Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction subsidized a research project at the Chiayi branch of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute and the horticultural department of National Chunghsing University in Taichung to investigate the litchi species and choose the best varieties for commercial propagation.
In the Taichung area, the most famous litchi farm is located at Touchiatsuo. Years ago, before the small town was turned into an industrial zone, the highway was lined with litchi peddlers. Most drivers passing the town would buy one or two crates of freshly-harvested litchi for their relatives and friends in the north or south.
The translucent and delectable flesh of the litchi—Without the flattering pink inner cover.
Litchi trees are not propagated by seeds. The farmers cut the branches skin deep and then wrap the wounded site with a soil compound and a plastic sheet. When the branch grows roots, it is ready for cutting and planting.
The trees are planted at intervals of seven meters, each tree occupying an area of 50 square meters. A hectare of land (10,000 square meters) can accommodate 200 trees. Each tree can bear 150-450 kilograms of fruit a year, and last for, maybe, 100 years.
The tree is not susceptible to insect damage, so it does not call for much management expense. When typhoons hit Taiwan, mostly from July to September, the fruit has already been harvested. Therefore, there is little natural risk in growing the litchi.
Over the years, the planting area and the production of fruit have tremendously increased. Orchards increased from 161 hectares in 1961 to 7,150 hectares in 1981; the trees are scattered in Nantou, Taichung, Changhua, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung Counties. The 1981 production was 66,894 metric tons. Most of the produce was marketed on the island, with a small part being exported to Japan, Hongkong, and Singapore.
So far, there are about 20 major varieties, which are divided into early ripening, regular, and late-ripening species. The quality of the fruit is mainly determined by the size of the seed in the fruit. A very prime fruit has a seed as small as a baby's tooth, while an inferior one has a seed bigger than a marble. The smaller the seed, the bigger the pulp.
But the varieties with bigger seeds also have their advantage—bigger production. Because the small-seed varieties bear little fruit, farmers prefer to grow the big-seed variety. The consumer cannot see the size of the seed before he eats the fruit. At that time, the grower has already made his money.
The most popular varieties grown in Taiwan are Black Leaf and Glutinous Rice. The former has a big seed but a high yield, while the latter yields less, but 30-40 percent of the fruit has small seeds.
Happiness is bringing fresh litchi home to the kids
Now, government specialists have come up with two species—Shakeng and Kangwei—that feature small seeds and considerable production. The government has subsidized the Chiayi branch of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute to cultivate the best seedlings for commercial production.
Besides the seed problem, the short season of supply also baffles government horticulturists. In the past, the supply lasted only about two or three weeks, from the second half of June to early July. With the planting of more early-ripening and late-ripening trees, the supply season has been lengthened to two months, from mid-May to mid-July.
The litchi is a very perishable fruit. If not properly stored, it changes its color one day after harvest, changes its flavor the second day, and spoils on the third day. The techniques of storing litchi have been much improved, but the storing period still cannot make them last longer than a month.
Because of storage problems, the market prices of litchis fluctuate violently. When they first hit the market, many like to have a taste first, no matter the price. One catty of the fruit, a little over a pound, may sell for more than NT$100 (US$2.50). The price may drop to as little as NT$7 or NT$8 when production reaches the peak.
Taiwan is now the third largest litchi producer after the Chinese mainland and India. But, if the production period cannot be further lengthened and the storage difficulties are not solved, it may become a litchi market for foreign countries. Early this year, when an Australian television station reported on litchi production and its marketing prospects, it said that the fruit could be exported to Taiwan during the Lunar New Year.
In comparison with normal varieties, the late-ripening varieties are inferior in quality. But an Australian horticulturist who had visited Taiwan's orchards commented: "Even a litchi with poor flavor is still delicious—it is just not as delicious as some other varieties."
With the incessant efforts of the horticulturists, the quality of Taiwan grown litchi is even better than the produce of South Fukien—the native place of most of the people in Taiwan and all of their litchi trees. So they are bracing up to meet the Australian challenge.