What are the varieties of litchi?

There are many varieties of litchi in China. According to the investigation in the early days of liberation, there are 82 varieties in Guangdong, 41 varieties in Fujian, and no exact statistics on the varieties of Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Taiwan and other provinces (regions). Among them, Gui flavor, glutinous rice paste is the best variety, but also the choice of fresh food; hanging green is even more precious and difficult to find. "Luogang Gui Flavor", "Bicun Nuomi Rice Flavor" and "Zengcheng hanging Green" are known as the "three heroes of litchi". Long Gui flavor in Huiyang town, glutinous rice curd is more delicious and sweet.

The following main varieties are common:

1. March Red

It is named March Red because it matures in the late March of the lunar calendar. It belongs to the earliest mature species. Mainly produces Xinhui in Guangdong, Zhongshan, Zengcheng, Lingshan in Guangxi and other counties. Fruit flow heart dirty shape, upper and lower sharp; turtle lobes of different size, irregular arrangement, suture is not obvious; skin thick, light red; flesh yellow and white, micro-tough, rough tissue, large nucleus, sweet and sour taste, residue after eating. Due to the early listing, it is still popular with consumers.

2. Round branches

The round branch is also known as Shuidong or Shuidong black leaves. Distributed in the suburbs of Guangzhou and counties in the Pearl River Delta. It gets its name because it is suitable for water planting and the leaf tip is long, similar to the black leaf. The fruit is short oval, or crooked heart-shaped, the shoulder edge of the fruit is high and low; the tortoise lobes are slightly flat and wide, should be dark red, the pulp is soft and juicy, sweet and sour, slightly fragrant. Mature in late May or early June.

3. Black leaves

The fruit is short oval, the top of the fruit is round or obtuse, the fruit is flat; the skin is dark red, the shell is thin, the lobes are flat and obtuse, the size is uniform, the arrangement is regular, the cracks and sutures are obvious; the meat is solid and crisp, sweet and juicy, most of them are large nuclei. Mature in mid-June. It is more resistant to storage.

4. Huaizhi

Huaizhi is also known as Miye, Phoenix, Gufeng, Huaizhi (rumor has it that in ancient times, Shang Shu passed through Lingnan and put the litchi sent by the villagers into his arms, hence the name) and Sophora japonica. Guangdong has the most widely cultivated and most productive varieties. Suitable for both fresh and dried food. Fruit spherical or suborbicular, flat; shell thick and tough, crimson, lobes large, slightly raised or nearly flat, irregular arrangement, occasional spikes near the pedicel, dense and few; meat milky white, soft, juicy, sweet and sour, large and long nucleus, occasionally small nucleus. Mature in the first ten days of July.

5. Guiwei

Guiwei, also known as Guizhi, gets its name because it contains the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus. It is one of the best varieties, and it is the best in the suburbs of Guangzhou and Lingshan County in Guangxi. Guiwei has two strains: all red and duck head green. The fruit is round, the shell is light red, thin and brittle; the protuberances of the lobes are small and pointed, and there are deep ring grooves around the top from both sides of the pedicel, both of which are characteristic of cinnamon; soft and full to yellow and white, small stone, sweet taste, ripe in early July.

6. Glutinous rice curd

Glutinous rice curd, also known as rice twig, is the most valuable variety in Guangdong. It is a famous Guangdong specialty fruit. It mainly produces Luogang District on the outskirts of Guangzhou and Xintang Town of Zengcheng City, followed by Conghua, Dongfan and other counties. The fruit is heart-shaped, nearly round, and the stalk is skewed as its variety characteristics; the initial listing is yellow, bright red; the lobes are large and narrow, longitudinally arranged, sparse, slightly convex, and the suture lines are wide and obvious; the top of the fruit is plump, the pedicel is slightly concave; the flesh is thick, small, pottery yellow and white translucent, containing 20% soluble solids, extremely sweet, fragrant, waxy and tender and smooth, and good quality. It is the favorite variety for consumers. It is most suitable for fresh food and drying. Mature in the first ten days of July. There are two strains of red-skinned big waxy and white-skinned small waxy.

7. Yuan Hong

Yuanhong, also known as wrinkled nucleus, mainly produces Minhou County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. Fruit heart-shaped, top plump; long pedicel; purplish red pericarp, small lobes, small thorns in the center, inconspicuous suture; thin meat, milky white, nuclear size not 7, sweet and sour taste. Mature in mid-July.

8. Orchid bamboo

Orchid bamboo mainly produces Longhai, Nanjing, Zhangzhou and other counties and cities in Fujian. There are two strains of red and cyan. The fruit is heart-shaped, the fruit is plump, the fruit pedicel is fine; the tortoise lobes are large without thorns; they should be thinner, with different sizes of nuclei and most of them; the pottery is milky white, sweet and sour in taste and medium in quality. Mature in mid-July. In addition to fresh food, suitable for canning and drying.

9. Chen Zi

Chen Zi is the best of Fujian Lili. When it is ripe, it emits a delicate fragrance and refreshes the heart. The areas around Putian and Xianyou are the most famous. Cai Xiang. Litchi spectrum. This variety was introduced in the United States at the beginning of this century and is widely cultivated in southern Australia.

10. Hang green

Hanging green is a treasure of litchi in Zengcheng, Guangdong, and it is also one of the famous species of litchi in Guangdong. It was listed as a tribute in feudal times. The Lingnan Litchi Spectrum describes: the fruit is slightly higher on one side of the pedicel, which is called the leader; on the other side, the process is lower, which is called the Phoenix tail. When ripe, red clothes alternate, and a green line runs through to the end, changing its name. " The fruit is as big as chicken seal, and the stone is as small as pea; the pericarp is dark red with green; the crack is flat, the suture is obvious; the meat is thick and crisp, sweet and juicy, population fragrance, unique flavor. Mature from late June to early July. At the 2002 Green Litchi auction in Zengcheng, Guangdong Province, a litchi sold for a sky-high price of 555000 yuan. This Li is collected from the "West Garden" in Zengcheng and hangs an old green tree. It has a history of more than 400 years and bears little fruit every year. Its characteristic is that the shell color is 4% light green and 6% red, there is a green line running through the body of the fruit, the flesh is crisp and the mouth is slightly fragrant, and the outer skin paper is wrapped in non-wet paper. Became the most expensive fruit in history.

11. Crystal ball

Crystal ball producing area in Guangdong, the flesh is crisp and sweet, the flesh color is transparent, the stone is small, is a superior variety with hundreds of years of cultivation history. Litchi dialect by Chen Ding. Description: Crystal ball "white flower, white shell, white, from the core, and pulp such as blood, taste sweet, fragrant heart."

The concubine smiles

Sichuan is called thallium, and Taiwan is called green purse or jade purse. Feizixiao is characterized by a blue-red skin, a large, flesh color like white wax, crisp and sweet, and small kernels. It is said that when Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty smiled for Princess Yang Guifei, the lychee sent thousands of miles was the concubine's smile. (as soon as he rides the concubine of the world of mortals smiles, no one knows it is litchi)

13. White sugar

White sugar is also known as bee sugar (electric white). It is an early-maturing variety, and its main producing areas are Gaozhou Genzi Town and Dianbai Yangjiao Town in Maoming City. It has been cultivated for about two to three hundred years.