The earliest document about lychees is "Shanglin Fu" written by Sima Xiangru in the Western Han Dynasty. In the text, it is written as "Li Zhi", which means to cut off the branches. It turns out that the ancients realized that this kind of fruit cannot be separated from the branches and leaves. If the branches are cut off, the shelf life will be lengthened.
Lychee is produced in southern China. Its cultivation and use history in China can be traced back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Chinese lychees are mainly distributed in the range of 18-29 degrees north latitude, with the most cultivation in Guangdong, followed by Fujian and Guangxi, and a small amount of cultivation in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Taiwan. It is also cultivated in southeastern Asia, and introduction records have been recorded in Africa, America and Oceania.
The main cultivated varieties of lychees are March Red, Round Branch, Black Leaf, Huaizhi, Guiwei, Nuomi Ci, Yuanhong, Lanzhu, Chenzi, Gualv, Crystal Ball, Feizixiao, and White Sugar Poppy Thirteen more.
Extended information
Precautions for eating lychees
For the general population, lychees can be eaten. Although lychees are delicious and nutritious, it is not advisable to eat too much. Eating a large amount of lychees for many days can cause lychee poisoning, also known as "lychee disease." The so-called "lychee disease" is actually hypoglycemia, not the presence of toxic substances in lychees.
Eating a large amount of lychees on an empty stomach will cause fructose to be converted into a large amount of glucose, stimulate the pancreatic beta cells to secrete a large amount of insulin, and send wrong signals to the liver, causing hypoglycemia. Therefore, be careful not to eat large amounts of lychees on an empty stomach. It is best to eat them half an hour after a meal. People with diabetes and those with symptoms such as dry and sore throat, swollen and painful gums, and nosebleeds are advised not to eat lychees or eat less.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Lychee
People's Daily Online - Greedy Lychee? Beware of "lychee disease"