PL 190. 
THE OLDEST LITCHI IN HAWAII. 
To Mr. Afong, a Chinese gentleman, is due the credit for the first introduction of the 
litchi tree into Hawaii. In 1870 he brought a plant from his own country and planted 
it in his dooryard at the corner of South School Street and Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu. 
Just how soon it began to bear is not known. In 1896 it was bearing well and it is reported 
that he sold the crop from it at 3 cents per fruit. Now that the tree is 46 years old it is 
said to have its off years. Evidently the litchi is a long-lived slow-growing fruit tree. 
Experiments in Florida and southern California appear to prove the possibility of litchi 
cultivation on the American mainland as well as on the more tropical islands. Photograph 
(P11879FS) by Mr. R. A. Young, in Mr. Afong's yard in Honolulu, August 12, 1913. 
