24 THE LYCHKK AND LITNGAN 



Cantone ; for they have Anans, Manghas ; and above 



all, there are some fruits proper to them of a particular excellency, 

 such as in Cantone are the Licic, (so the Portughess call them, but 

 the Chineses, Lid. ) These on the outside are an orange colour, 

 and when they are ripe doe very much beautify the trees they grow- 

 on. They are made like chastnuts, in the forme of an heart; when 

 the shell is pilled of, which is only contiguous to it, the fruit remaines 

 like a pearl in colour, very pleasing to the sight, but more to the 

 taste. ' ' 



In 1655 Martinio 1 reported the lychee and lungan from 

 Fukien in the following words as translated by Mrs. Maude Keller- 

 man Swingle: "A quantity of the fruits called Lichi, in Portugese 

 Maehaenses Licliias, is also found in the eastern part of the Province 

 [Fukien] and especially about the cities; they are borne on large tall 

 trees which have leaves like the laurel and whose top branches 

 produce fruit lik-i bunches of grapes but with fewer fruits and longer 

 peduncles; the fruit is the shape of a heart, and the size of a walnut, 

 resembling a small pine cone, having a scaly but not thick skin for it 

 can be easily broken with the hand alone; inside is the succulent 

 white flesh with a suave rose odor and taste; at maturity the fruit 

 becomes purple so that the trees themselves look purple ornamented 

 all over with hearts, a beautiful sight to delight the eyes; the seed or 

 stone is surrounded by flesh, and the smaller the seed the better and 

 more superior the fruit; rightly may I say that it is the king of fruits; 

 often have I considered how it delights the eye and one never wearies 

 of the taste, its flesh is like sweet meats made of congealed (candied?) 

 roses as the people call it and I have often seen that it almosts melts 

 in the mouth. 



'There is also another fruit which is round and has a 

 different skin from the above, this is called the Lung yen, that is 

 dragon's eye; it is not equal to the above in size but is a little smaller 

 arid rounded almost like a cherry. The skin is somewhat harder 

 than that of the " Lichi " and has larger scales. Both are also dried 

 in China and are sent from this province (Fukien) to delight the 

 whole empire, but the dried fruits cannot be compared to the fresh 

 ones as almost all the suave juice is lost. From the Lichi " also a 

 liquor is expressed, which the Chinese call wine; it is agreeable 

 enough but not often found." 



1 Martinio, Martino, Atlas Sinicus sive Magni Sinarum Imperil 

 Geographica descriptio, auctore R. P. Martino Martinio e Societate Jesu, ex 

 Sinanim regno in Urbem misso Prooiratore Vienna. 1^5, page 123. 



