VARIETIES OF THE LYCHEE 91 



There is a wide range of flavor in the different varieties of 

 lychee ani the Chinese have some interesting expressions to cover 

 this quality. For example suan (sun fit ) is a sour acid flavor 

 whereas sunn t'ien (sun t'im SlSft) or sour-sweet is a mild sub-acid 

 flavor. The term sch'ivg t'ien (ts'ing t'im JrJfr) clear sweetness and 

 clio t'ien (chuk t'lm rUSH") or dull sweetness are often used. Some- 

 times they also use lisiang t'ien (hcung t'lm H=Sft) meaning fragrant 

 sweetness and mi t'ien (mat t'tmffft) meaning "honey sweetness" 

 in describing the flavor of the lychee. 



The seeds of this fruit are of two chief kinds: the mature, 

 well-developed ones which the Chinese call ta ho (tai hat ;fo|5[) or 

 big seed and the shrivelled, immature ones which they call chiao ho 

 (tsiu hat ,$$g) which literally means scorched seed. 



The following descriptions of some of the varieties of the 

 lychee are listed here somewhat in the order of their importance as 

 commercial fruits or in propagation. 



No mi ts'z (No mai t'sz *f&!ft)-- Glutinous rice 



The No mi (f|$0 or glutinous rice, characterized by its sticky 

 or glutinous quality, is one of the most common and highly prized 

 vareties of rice in China. A great quantity of the Chinese rice wine 

 is made from this kihd of rice. Why the Chinese should name 

 one of their best lychee after this rice 1 have never heard explained. 

 The No mi ts'z ($!&3fcjj) is sometime called Shui ching hwan ( Shiu 

 tsing un Tjt&A) which must not be confused with Shui ching ch'iu 

 (Shui tsing k'au :&a&fc), a distinct variety Most of the No mi ts'z 

 (No mai t'sz JHI^e^J, also sometimes written f^jeH, are produced 

 in the district ot Pan yu (P'un U Ull^ . The Lo kang Mffl) region 

 is especially famous for its production of a superior type. This 

 varie;y is commonly propagated by Chinese air-layering but the 

 quality of the fruit thus produced (fig. 44) is not considered to be so 

 good as those which have been inarched or grafted on the " mountain 

 lychee" (fig. 45). This practice, widely followed at Lo kang^ 

 doubtless accounts for the superior fruit produced there. 



The leaves of trees of this variety are rather small and do not 

 form a very dense head. The leaflets are quite long, pointed and 

 the -margin, especially at the tip, is somewhat wavy. Petioles are 

 short 



