THK LYCHKE AND LUNGAN 



It is a surprising fact that among the varied fruits of the Western 

 Hemisphere one does not find a single species belonging to the sub- 

 family Nephclicae of the family Sapindaceae to which these fruits 

 belong. For centuries this group has provided the thickly populated 

 regions of southern Asia and the East Indies with several of their most 

 delicious and refreshing fruits. Four distinct species, representing 

 three closely related genera, and each with a number or varieties, are 

 grown in China, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and British 

 India. A few scattered trees have only recently found their way into 

 the West Indies, Panama, southern Florida and southern California 

 where climatic conditions are somewhat similar to those in the region 

 in which these fruits are native. It is a singular coincidence that al- 

 though species of Litchi and Euphoria appear in the wild state in the 

 Philippines, the two edible species of South China have never been 

 extensively cultivated in those islands. In the Hawaiian islands one 

 non-edible species of the family exists. Trees of the edible forms, 

 introduced from South China by Chinese residents in Hawaii, have 

 for a number of years borne fruits at irregular intervals. These trees 

 have only recently attracted the attention of horticulturists. The 

 cultivation of the best varieties of the lychee and lungan, or of the two 

 allied more tropical species of Nephelieae, might provide a paying in- 

 dustry for some of these regions in question. They would certainly 

 be worthy additions to the fruits now on the markets of the western 

 world. 



The four most widely cultivated fruits of Nephelicae are the 

 rambutan and pulassan of the malaysian tropics and the lungan and 

 lychee of the sub-tropical Asiatic Mainland. The latter, the best 'of 

 the four, is decidedly the most promising for those regions in which 

 the fruits could be grown for sale in the United States. If the lychee 

 were given the strict attention of successful fruit growers, and its 

 cultural peculiarities carefully studied, it should be found that certain 

 varieties are especially adapted to the low, wet, otherwise useless land 

 of some of these areas; while other varieties not so promising might 

 be grown on the hills. The lungan is a hardier species than the 

 lychee and as such should find a place in the more northern extrem- 

 ities of sub-tropical regions. It is a fruit worth introducing and is a 

 most valuable ornamental. Experimentally it will prove of interest 

 as a stock and for hybridizing with the lychee. The rambutan and 

 pulassan, Nephelium lappaceum Linn., and Nephelium mutabile 

 Blume, are strictly tropical forms and should prove valuable introduc- 

 tions in regions too warm for the Ivchee and lunfran. 



