Nephelium Litchi - 0.5 kg Seeds

Litchi, Litchi chinensis (often listed as Nephelium litchi), is a handsome evergreen fruit tree of the soapberry family that forms a dense, rounded crown of glossy compound leaves. Originally from southern China, it is grown commercially in the sub-Himalayan belt of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and parts of the north-east, where its rough-skinned red fruit with sweet translucent pulp ripens in early summer. Besides the prized fruit, the tree gives pleasant shade and is sometimes planted as an ornamental in orchards and large gardens.

• Family: Sapindaceae
• Native region: Southern China
• Mature height: 10–15 m
• Growth rate: Slow to moderate

Litchi seed is highly recalcitrant and dies within days of drying, so sow it immediately after eating the fruit. Clean off the pulp, soak the seed in water for 24 hours, and sow it about 2 cm deep in a moist, rich, well-drained nursery mix in light shade. Fresh seed germinates in about two to three weeks; keep seedlings shaded and well-watered and transplant them carefully into deep bags, noting that seedling litchis are mainly used as rootstock since fruiting types are normally air-layered.