Sapindaceae
How to identify a lychee tree
Litchi chinensis · also called litchi, vải thiều (Vietnamese), ลิ้นจี่ (Thai)
Rough pink-red skin over fragrant, sweet-tart translucent flesh. A major commercial crop, but home fruiting is notoriously erratic without the winter chill cues the species evolved with.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Litchi, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Leaves are pinnately compound, usually with two to four pairs of glossy, pointed leaflets; new growth flushes bronze to red.
- Fruit hangs in loose clusters and has a red, bumpy, leathery skin over translucent white flesh.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If lychee is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Southern China
- USDA zones
- 9b-11 (varies by cultivar)
- Climate
- Subtropical; benefits from a cool (not freezing) dry winter to trigger flowering, humid summers for fruit development.
- Fruiting season
- May, June and July (typical, Northern Hemisphere)
- How often grown
- Widely grown
Fruit is the most reliable way to confirm an identification, so May, June and July is the easiest window. Outside it, rely on the leaves and the overall habit. A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Seedling 8-10+ yrs; grafted/air-layered 3-5 yrs
- Propagation
- Air-layering (marcotting) predominant; grafting; seed for rootstock only.
Named cultivars
Our database lists these cultivars of lychee. They cannot be told apart from a leaf photo.
Relatives in the Sapindaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
- RambutanNephelium lappaceum
- PulasanNephelium ramboutan-ake
- LonganDimocarpus longan
- MamoncilloMelicoccus bijugatus
- AckeeBlighia sapida
Map your lychee trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides