[Editor] Botanical characteristics
Trees can be as high as 16 meters, with alternate leaves and compound leaves, ranging in length from 12 to 15 cm. Leaflets are slender, the upper surface is green and shiny, and the top is pointed. Panicle with fine hairs. The flowers are small and green. Fruits are strung on trees like grapes, usually in a ball shape of about an inch, with a thin red hard shell outside, white transparent pulp inside and a dark brown stone in the middle.
[Edit] History
Litchi in China ancient books was originally called "Litchi". It is generally believed that litchi originated from the wild forest in the south of China. In the 3rd century, Jaco's Lu Wu recorded that "there are many lychees in Cangwu, which were born in the mountains and planted by others". Cangwu is in today's Guangxi. Wild litchi trees can still be found in the virgin forests of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. It is also recorded in Miscellanies of Xijing that in the second century BC, when Emperor Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor, Qiu Zhao Tuo used to eat lychees. Litchi was registered as a Lingnan specialty in People in the first century and Guang Zhi in the third century. It can be seen that litchi has been planted and produced in southern China for 2000 years.
Litchi is planted in today's China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan and Taiwan Province provinces, ranging from 18 degrees north latitude to 28 degrees north latitude. Litchi is also grown in many countries outside China. Most countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Thailand, have recently produced litchi. On the other side of the globe, litchi cultivation has also been introduced in Florida and California in the United States and Queensland in Australia.
[Edit] Save
Litchi that is not kept fresh has the characteristics of "one day changing color, two days changing fragrance, three days changing flavor and four days losing fragrance". The preservation of litchi is relatively difficult. It is said that Ming Chengzu sent litchi from Lingnan (also known as Sichuan) to Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, which made Yang Guifei laugh. In order to preserve the color and fragrance of litchi, he had to cut down the whole litchi tree and send it by express mail. The common modern preservation method is to choose varieties that are easy to preserve, and preserve them at low temperature and high humidity (2-4 degrees Celsius, 90%-95% humidity). The modified atmosphere is also used to reduce the proportion of oxygen to slow down oxidation; Or cooperate with drugs for sterilization and antisepsis.
Fresh litchi is listed in May every year, and July to August is the best time to make it. Fresh litchi just picked can often be bought in cities near the place of origin. As for places far from the place of origin, you can only buy frozen ones. Canned lychee is also very popular. Generally, the shell and core are removed and soaked in light sugar water. The taste is far from freshness, and it is often used as a cold drink or dessert.
[Edit] category
There are many varieties of litchi, among which cinnamon and glutinous rice paste are the best varieties and the choice of fresh food; Diaoqing is a precious and hard-to-find variety. "Luogang Guiwei", "Bicun glutinous rice paste" and "Zengcheng Gualv" are known as "Three Unique Litchi".
Hanging green: Because the shell is slightly green, six points are divided into dividends, and each point is named after a circle of green lines. According to "Guangdong Xinyu", hanging green is "crisp as a pear, and the pulp is gone. If you shell it, it will remain unchanged for three days. " Among them, Zengcheng Guaqing has always been a tribute of the emperor. According to legend, during the Qianlong period, Zengcheng people cut down 100 trees due to the annual tribute, and there was only one mother tree in the hanging green garden in Licheng Street, Zengcheng, which was called "hanging green in the west garden". Every year, there are still results in hanging green in the West Garden. 200 1 xiyuan has a litchi hanging green, setting a world record for auctioning "the most expensive fruit".
Guiwei: It is characterized by sweet-scented osmanthus, and the meat is cool and sweet. The skin is light red, the lobes on the skin are sharp and prickly, and the skin is thin and brittle; There are normal large nuclei and degenerated focal nuclei. There is a kind of cinnamon called "duck head green" with dark green patches, which is an excellent variety.
Glutinous rice paste: It is characterized by thick meat, rich juice and sweet as honey. The skin is bright red and thin, and the lobes on the skin have no peaks. The nucleus is so small that it has degenerated into seedless.
Other common main litchi varieties are:
March Red: It is the most precocious variety, and it is listed around May every year.
Feizixiao: Early-maturing variety with red skin. Legend has it that when Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty laughed at Yang Guifei, litchi sent thousands of miles away was the princess's smile.
Hu Aizhi: According to legend, an ancient Shangshu passed by Lingnan and took lychees sent by villagers into his arms, hence the name.
Black leaves
White sugar poppy
Bai La
Jade purse: the fruit is huge, the meat is thick and the core is small.
[Editor] Nutrition
The sugar content of litchi pulp is as high as 20%; Every 100 ml of fruit juice contains up to 70 mg of vitamin C, in addition to protein, fat, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
But litchi is very angry, and some people will have a bad mouth or nosebleed if they eat too much. There is a saying in Guangdong called "a handful of lychees and three fires". People who are angry with themselves will react after eating a dozen. The popular folk solution is to drink a proper amount of bitter salt water or honey water.
[Editor] Litchi in Literature
Litchi is very common in literary works.
Du Mu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "Three Wonders of China Crossing the Qing Palace": "Looking back on Chang 'an, there are piles of embroidery workers, and thousands of doors are opened at the top of the mountain. Riding a princess and laughing in the world of mortals, no one knew it was litchi. "It's about that Emperor Tang Ming sent litchi thousands of miles away to win a smile from Yang Guifei.
Tang Bai Juyi's Preface to Litchi Map: "Litchi is born between the eight Gorges, and the tree is like a curtain. Leaves like laurel and holly; Hua Ruju, Chun Rong; True as Dan, mature in summer. Flowers are like grapes, seeds are like loquat, shells are like red silkworms, membranes are like purple silkworms, meat is like Bai Rubing snow, and pulp is as sweet as fermented cheese. Roughly the same, in fact, more than it. Leaving this branch, the color changed one day, the fragrance changed two days, and the taste changed three days. After four or five days, the color, fragrance and taste are gone. ……"
Su Dongpo was banished to Lingnan during Zong Shaosheng's reign in Song Zhe, and he ate litchi for the first time in Shaosheng's second year. Later, litchi was mentioned many times in his poems, including "four seasons in spring in Luofu Mountain, and red oranges and bayberries are new." 300 lychees a day, he is not afraid to grow up to be a Lingnan person. This is the most famous, which also shows his love for litchi.
Litchi in Xuanhetang by Song Huizong and Evonne in Song Dynasty: "Move to Fujian Mountain in secret, and prohibit new planting of litchi pills. Jade liquid initially coagulates fairy palm dew, and red buds initially become crystal pills. The wine is gorgeous but not vermicelli, and the wind is fragrant but not fragrant. Why should the red dust fly? See you in this seat. "
Xu Mingbo's Lychee Film: "I once painted in Zhongzhou, and the rouge gradually disappeared. The lotus petals fall before the wind, and the peach blossoms are charming after the rain. "
Wen Mingzhi s Xin Li;
"Changshu Guggenheim moved a few lychee books from Fujian and lived after the age of 18. Ishida tried the broken branches, and the green leaves were full, but he couldn't believe it. To show that Fujian people are good. Because he wrote Xin Li, he was endowed with the same fate.
There is no such thing as raw litchi in Hainan for brocade with purple film and white skin.
The salt steamed honey stains are distorted, and all I have seen in my life is withering.
According to legend, the stunner never leaves the soil, and those who are afraid of the cold get three Wu.
There are three or four kinds of plants in Gu Jia, and Guilin is green and dense.
People in the distance couldn't believe it, but asked Min Shixian to exclaim.
I also heard that many children were born, and the crimson yarn was clearly wrapped in jade.
Didn't say fragrance, color and fruit, just said that the shape is good.
Wandering in the north for a thousand years, I suddenly lost my husband's teeth.
Baitu Zeppe exaggerates, and the ornament is better than the eye.
Only satisfied with the countryside, the fresh taste gradually moves towards the capital.
You don't need to be from Lingnan, I'm afraid there is no embarrassment in the world.
North Korea is shocked and self-doubt, which is absolutely true.
Although the cloud is far away from the merchant ship, it does not mean that you can live.
I know that creatures are not far away, and good things can return to swimming.
Flowers and plants occupy a lot of land, and naturally they are taken away by personnel.
The immortal was originally a seamount, and Jiangxiang sprouted from then on.
From the origin of Woyan's Talk about My Hometown, there have been many different flavors.
Bak Yan this thing will gain weight, I'm afraid people will panic.
Fushan Yangmei Dongting Orange has long been famous in the southeast.
The customs and smells are different, and it is said to be the unique litchi III. "