THE LYCHEE IN FLORIDA D 



author, Ts’ai Hsiang, was honored by the emperor by erecting 
a monument, said to be still standing, in his honor, in the city 
of Henghwa, Fukien Province, China. The basis for the mono- 
graph was the orchard from which came the Lychee that is 
now called the Brewster, brought to the United States in 1907 
by the Reverend Brewster, a missionary to China. 
ORIGIN OF THE SO-CALLED “BREWSTER” LYCHEE 
There are many varieties of Lychee. Floridians will 
doubtless be interested in the origin and antiquity of the one 
being planted on a commercial scale in Florida, under the trade 
name of “Brewster”, but which in China has for centuries 
been known as the Chen Purple or Chen Family Purple. This 
is well described by Mr. Wen Hsun Chen, a native of Hengh- 
wa, Fukien Province, China, the home of the Brewster’s an- 
cestors: 
“Though it seems impossible to determine when the 
Chen Purple lychee was first brought under culture in Hingh- 
wa district of Fukien province, the first Chen ancestor mi- 
grated from central China to Hinghwa in the Tung dynasty, 
around 400 A.D. It may be said that Chen Family lychee 
which is now growing in Florida was first cultivated in 
Hinghwa between the Tung and Sung dynasties. When Tsai 
Hsiang wrote his monograph on lychee (1059 A.D.) he stated 
that “the tree of Sung Fragrant lychee is very high and large, 
the fruits are smaller than the Chen Purple variety, but 
its flavor is the same as that variety.” Some have therefore 
considered that the Chen Purple variety is a strain from the 
Sung variety. At that time these lychee trees were already 
three hundred years old and thriving very well. Unfortu- 
nately most of these historical trees were cut down in 1924 
when a highway was built through there. There are now still 
surviving two very ancient trees; one is five feet, 1014 in. in 
diameter and 75 feet high, while the other has half of the 
main trunk dead, but a sucker which has come from its base 
bears good fruits. On the monument erected near the tree 
you can find the date of planting and many poems cut into 
the stone to praise these wonderful old trees. It is clear that 
the Chen variety was planted in Hinghwa district more than 
a thousand years ago. It is fortunate, indeed, that Mr. W. N. 
Brewster shipped this lychee to this state in 1903-1906, where 
it has now established a new home far from its native one. 
“The Chen Purple (Brewster) fruits are round to cordate 
form with raised shoulders, one of which is more prominent 
than the other. An average fruit measured 3.85 cm. in length, 
and 3.42 in width and weighed 19 grams. The shell of the 
fruit is very rough with sharp points, the color of the fruit is 
purple red, and inner membrane of the shell is characteristi- 
cally pink in color. The pulp is white, firm and juicy, without 
rag, very sweet and fragrant. It is high quality and the best 
lychee in Fukien province.” 
