Lychee
Litchi chinensis · Sapindaceae family
A small shell hides succulent white flesh; try it fresh, in a coconut drink, or alongside a savory preparation.
Find it near DetroitGet to know it
A lychee hides sweet, floral flesh inside a thin, bumpy shell. Peel it and the white middle is juicy and almost see-through. The flesh slips away from a brown seed, leaving a small, fragrant mouthful.
What it is
Lychees are round to oval, usually 2.5–3.8 cm (1–1.5 in) across. Their skin can be yellow, pink or red, with little bumps across its surface. The shell peels away from the flesh; the seed is not eaten.
In India, Shahi is an early variety with rounded or heart-shaped fruit. Rose Scented, grown in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, has a distinct aroma. Drying changes the fruit: the pale flesh shrinks into a brown, raisin-like bite.
Where it comes from
Lychee comes from southern China, with a long history of growing in Guangdong. China remains its biggest producer. It reached India through Burma, now Myanmar, in the 1700s. Bihar, including Muzaffarpur, is one of India’s main growing areas, alongside West Bengal and Uttarakhand.
Farther afield, lychee arrived in Hawaii in 1873 and Florida in 1883.
How it's eaten where it grows
Filipino buko lychee juice mixes shredded young coconut with coconut water and sweet lychees. Buko means young coconut. Canned lychees in syrup make the drink easy to put together, and it is served cold or over ice, with pieces of fruit and coconut in the glass.
In China, dried lychee flesh goes into tea to sweeten it in place of sugar.
How it's grown
Lychee grows on an evergreen tree that can reach 12 m (40 ft) in Florida. It crops best with a dry, cool winter without freezing, followed by a hot, humid summer. Bees and flies visit the flowers and carry pollen between them.
Trees raised from rooted branches or grafts begin bearing in three to five years.
When and where you'll find it
In India, the main harvest usually falls in May and June, Bihar’s included. South Florida’s crop usually runs from mid-May to early July. In the US, some Asian grocers carry fresh lychees during the season.
Canned lychees also reach supermarket Asian aisles and online shops. In China and India, the fruit is peeled, pitted and packed in sugar syrup, ready to add to drinks and fruit dishes.
Sources · 7
Get it near Detroit
What it tastes like
Sweeter than a banana, as mild as a pear≈
More about the taste
Lychee has succulent, translucent white flesh with sweetness and a light acid edge. Seed size and eating quality differ among varieties.
Lychee has a rose-like aroma and flavor, with sweet, juicy flesh.
Varieties vary in fruit size, flavor and how often their seeds are small or underdeveloped.
A tasting invitation
Compare one fresh lychee with a thawed example if both are available, noting texture as well as aroma. A lychee-rambutan-longan flight is another useful experiment, keeping each fruit's name and origin with its tasting notes.
Choose, ripen, store, eat
1ChoosePlump
Look for
- Plump
- Color typical of its variety
- No decay or damage
Ignore
- Bright red
Look for plump fruit with the color typical of its variety. Bright red is not required — skin can range from yellow to pink or red.
2RipenDoesn’t ripen after picking
Doesn’t ripen after pickingBuy lychees ready to eat. They do not ripen off the tree, so fruit picked immature stays less sweet than tree-ripened fruit.
3StoreFridge, fresh10 days
- FridgeFreshBagUp to 10 days
- FreezerUnpeeled
Keep fresh lychees in a bag in the fridge; they stay fresh for about 5–10 days. A brown shell doesn't always mean the flesh has gone off.
4EatWhite flesh · not shell, seed
Eat
White fleshNot eaten
ShellSeedPeel away the shell and remove the seed, then eat the white flesh. Recipes use either canned lychees or fresh peeled, pitted fruit.
More tips
A useful detail Peel the fruit and remove the pit before eating the translucent flesh, which has a rose-like aroma that varies in intensity fruit to fruit.
Worth knowing
- A lychee's flavor depends on origin and harvest lot as well as variety.
- The sweetest lychee isn't always the best liked.
Detroit, Michigan
When it’s good hereUsual monthsJust arrivedAt their bestLast chanceAll yearWhere it is in its usual monthsToday, Oct 22Grown hereIn season in your stateShips fromIn season where it grows
22 growing areas, 10 countriesUsual monthsOur estimated monthsToday, Oct 22
- Analanjirofo
- Atsinanana
- Bắc Giang
- Bihar
- California
- Chiang Mai
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guangdong
- Hawaii
- Himachal Pradesh
- Málaga
- Mpumalanga
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Florida
- You
1 of 14 areas · October
Growing areas by country
- United States5
- China4
- India3
- Australia2
- Madagascar2
- South Africa2
- Spain1
- Pakistan1
and 5 more countriesand 2 more countries
In China, dried lychees together with dried longans, wrapped in brown paper, were once a popular food gift.
34 varieties
- No variety photo yetTrứng Hưng Yên
- No variety photo yetPhúc Hòa
BrewsterPhoto: Asit K. Ghosh Thaumaturgist · CC BY-SA 3.0- Hak Ip
- Heung Lai
- KaimanaAlso R10T2
37 names in 22 languages
- 荔枝root
Cook it
How to serve it first
Try a few peeled, pitted lychees plain, then add some to a fruit cup. Test a light citrus dressing in a separate spoonful before mixing the whole bowl.
2 lychee festivalsUsual monthToday, Oct 22
Strange but trueHistoryA myth, and the truthScienceNatureWhere the name came fromCustoms and cultureFood and drinkPeopleA record
If you like Lychee
Tastes alike
Same plant family
Nutrition, sources
Nutrition
Litchis, raw · per 100 g
- Carbohydrate
- 17 g
- Fiber
- 1.3 g
- Sugars
- 15 g
- Protein
- 0.8 g
- Fat
- 0.4 g
- Vitamin C
- 72 mg
- Potassium
- 171 mg
Sources
Lychee · Fruitopia · checked Oct 2, 2026
What we don't know yet
Canned or nectar lychee has a different texture from fresh fruit.