Abstract
Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a famous and precious fruit cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is originated from southern China where there is a long history of cultivation for this fruit. China, as the first country with domestic culture of lychee in the world, has various ecological environments suitable for lychee production. They are scattered from low latitudes in the southern part of Hainan Island to the high latitudes of Yibin prefecture of Sichuan Province. They are also distributed from below sea level in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province to 1100 to 1400 meters above sea level near the Jinshajiang River in Yunnan Province. Many lychee varieties that are adapted to different environmental conditions were selected during the past several thousand years and came from different ecological conditions. China has very rich lychee resources, and various cultivars range from early, middle, to late season of ripening. More than 200 lychee cultivars have been grown in southern China.
