Abstract
Litchi chinensis (common name, litchi or lychee) is a tropical to subtropical fruit that was originated in China and Vietnam but now grows in more than 20 countries at the commercial level. China is the largest producer of litchi followed by India. Because of its delicious taste and high nutritional value, it is also called as “King of the Fruits” in China. Litchi belongs to family Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family. Litchi chinensis subsp. chinensis is the only commercially grown subspecies. Litchi is a highly cross-pollinated entomophilous crop. Honey bees are its principal pollinators. The edible part of the fruit is the aril, which is fleshy, white, translucent and juicy. The bud, leaf and shoot development, inflorescence emergence, flowering, fruit development and fruit maturity are the seven principal growth stages of its complete growth cycle. Many litchi cultivars are known in various parts of the world. Some of these, with special or superior characteristics, are grown commercially. Various workers have classified these litchi cultivars differently on the basis of various parameters, viz. morphological traits, isozyme analysis, DNA markers, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, etc. Every part of the litchi (leaf, fruit, flower, seed, pericarp) has some medicinal value. Litchi fruits are a good source of vitamin C, minerals (Cu, P, K), B-complex vitamins and antioxidants such as oligonol. This chapter gives an overview of its taxonomy, botany and various cultivars. A brief description of its active constituents and the pharmacological activities is also given here in this chapter.
Keywords
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acevedo-Rodríguez P , Welzen PCV, Adema F, Van der Ham RWJM (2010) The families and genera of vascular plants. Flowering plants. Eudicots, vol 10. Springer, Berlin, pp 357–407
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG II) (2003) An update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Bot J Linn Soc 141:399–436
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG III) (2009) An update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Bot J Linn Soc 161:105–121
Basu S, Haldar N, Bhattacharya S, Biswas S, Biswas M (2012) Hepatoprotective activity of Litchi chinensis leaves against paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats. Am-Euras J Sci Res 7:77–81
Bentham G, Hooker JD (1862–1883) Genera plantarum ad exemplaria imprimis in herbariis kewensibus servata definite, vol 1–3. L. Reeve & Co., London
Berg RG, Den V (1978) Pollen morphology of the genera Pometia, Cubilia, Otonephelium, and Litchi (Sapindaceae-Nephelieae). Blumea 24:369–494
Buerki S, Forest F, Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Callmander MW, Nylander JA, Harrington M, Sanmartín I, Küpfer P, Alvarez N (2009) Plastid and nuclear DNA markers reveal intricate relationships at subfamilial and tribal levels in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 51:238–258
Buerki S, Phillipson PB, Lowry PP, Callmander MW (2010a) Molecular phylogenetics and morphological evidence support recognition of Gereaua, a new endemic genus of Sapindaceae from Madagascar. Syst Bot 35:172–180
Buerki S, Porter P, Lowry, Alvarez N, Razafimandimbison SG, Küpfer P, Callmander MF (2010b) Phylogeny and circumscription of Sapindaceae revisited: molecular sequence data, morphology and biogeography support recognition of a new family, Xanthoceraceae Plant Ecol Evol FastTrack 1–12
Butcher FG (1956) Bees pollinate lychee blooms. Proc Fla Lychee Growers Assoc 3:60
Butcher FG (1957) Pollination insects on lychee blossoms. Proc Fla State Hortic Soc 70(326):328
Castellain RC, Gesser M, Tonini F, Schulte RV, Demessiano KZ, Wolff FR (2014) Chemical composition, antioxidant and antinociceptive properties of Litchi chinensis leaves. J Pharm Pharmacol 66:1796–1807
Chadha KL, Rajpoot MS (1969) Studies on floral biology, fruit set and its retention and quality of some litchi varieties. Indian J Hortic 26:124–129
Chaturvedi RB, Saxena GK (1965) Studies on the blossom biology of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Allahabad Farmer 39:10–13
Chauhan S, Kaur N, Kishore L, Singh R (2014) Pharmacological evaluation of anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of Litchi chinensis. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 6:116–119
Chen YY, Deng SS, Zhang X, Wei SX, Gao AP, Wang JB, et al (2004) RAPD analysis of genetic relationship among partial litchi germplasms in Hainan Island. Acta Hortic Sin 31:224–22226
Chen YT, Lai ZX, Chen JY, Guo YQ, Cai YQ, Wu JS (2005) RAPD analysis of genetic relationship among some ancient litchi genetic resources. J Fujian Agric For Univ 34(4):458–463
Chin HF, Hor YL, Lassim MBM (1984) Identification of recalcitrant seeds. Seed Sci Technol 12:429–436
Costes E (1987) Le litchi à la Réunion. Étude des caractéristiques des fruits de la récolte 1985. Fruits 42(7–8):443–453
Cronje RB (2010) Litchi phenology and botanical aspects. In: de Villiers EA, Joubert PH (eds) The cultivation of litchi. ARC Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Nelspruit, pp 8–22
Cronquist A (ed) (1981) An integrated system of classification of flowering plants. Columbia University Press, New York
Cronquist A (1988) The evolution and classification of flowering plants, 2nd edn. New York Botanical Garden Press, New York
Dahlgren G (1989) An updated system of classification. Bot J Linn Soc 100:197–203
Degani C, Blumenfeld A (1986) The use of isozyme analysis for differentiation between loquat cultivars. HortScience 21:1457–1458
Degani C, El-Batsri R, Gazit S (1990) Enzyme polymorphism in mango. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 115:844–847
Dhaliwal HS, Srivastava S, Adlakha RL (1977) Insect pollination of lychee, Litchi chinensis Sonn. in the valley areas of the Indian Himalayas. In: Proceedings of the twenty-sixth international apiculture congress. Apimondia, Bucharest, p 396
Ding XD, Lv LX, Chen XJ, Guan X (2000) Identifying litchi cultivars and evaluating their genetic relationships by RAPD markers. J Trop Subtrop Bot 8:49–54
FAO (1982) Fruit-bearing forest trees: technical notes. FAO-Forestry-Paper No 34:177
Free JB (1993) Insect pollination of crops, 2nd edn. Academic, London, p 684
Fu JX (2010) Development and application of microsatellite markers in litchi, longan and selection of excellent individuals in litchi populations. D.Phil. thesis, South China Agricultural University
Fu JR, Zhang BZ, Wang XP, Qiao YZ, Huang XL (1990) Physiological studies on desiccation, wet storage and cryo-preservation of recalcitrant seeds of three fruit species and their excised embryonic axes. Seed Sci Technol 18:743–754
Gadek PA, Fernando ES, Quinn CJ, Hoot SB, Terrazas T, Sheahan MC, Chase MW (1996) Sapindales: molecular delimitation and infraordinal groups. Am J Bot 83:802–811
Goldring A, Zamir D, Degani C (1985) Duplicated phosphoglucose isomerase genes in avocado. Theor Appl Genet 71:451–454
Goto (1960) Technical papers of the first Pacific Rim food conference, Honolulu, HI, pp 15–23
Groff GW (1921) The lychee and lungan. Orange Judd, New York
Groff GW (1943) Some ecological factors involved in successful lychee culture. Proc Fla State Hortic Soc 56(34):155
Harrington MG, Edwards KJ, Johnson SA, Chase MW, Gadek PA (2005) Phylogenetic inference in Sapindaceae sensu lato using plastid matK and rbcL DNA sequences. Syst Bot 30:366–382
Heywood VH (ed) (1978) Flowering plants of the world. Oxford University Press, London
Huang HB, Chen HB (2003) A phasic approach towards the floral formation in Litchi chinensis Sonn. J Fruit Sci 20(6):487–492
Huang XM, Hu GB (2010) Management for early bearing, high quality and high yield in Feizixiao litchi. In: Chen HB (ed) Practical techniques in litchi production. Guangdong Science and Technology Press, Guangzhou, pp 60–81
Huang HB, Jiang SY, Xie C (1983) The initiation of aril and ontogeny of fruit in Litchi chinensis Sonn. J South China Agric Coll 4:78–83
Huang X, Subhadrabandhu S, Mitra SK, Ben-Arie R, Stern RA (2005) Origin, history, production and processing. In: Menzel CM, Waite GK (eds) Litchi and longan: botany, production and uses. CABI Publishing, Nambour, pp 1–24
Hutchinson J (ed) (1973) The families of flowering plants, arranged according to a new system based on their probable phylogeny, 2 vols (3rd edn). Oxford University PressOxford
Hwang JY, Lin JT, Liu SC, Hu CC, Shyu YS, Yan DJ (2013) Protective role of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) flower extract against cadmium- and lead-induced cytotoxicity and transforming growth factor β1-stimulated expression of smooth muscle α-actin estimated with rat liver cell lines. J Funct Foods 5:698–705
Ichinose T, Musyoka TM, Watanabe K, Kobayashi N (2013) Evaluation of antiviral activity of Oligonol, an extract of Litchi chinensis, against betanodavirus. Drug Discov Ther 7:254–260
Irene PR, Babu DJ, Rao NV, Sheikh RA (2012) Nootropic activity of fruit extracts of Litchi chinensis Sonn (Sapindaceae). Int J Pharmacol Technol 4:4795–4804
Joubert AJ (1967) Die bloei, embriosak-, embrioem verugontwikkeling von. Litchi chinensis Sonn. cultivar HLH Mauritus. Thesis, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Joubert AJ (1986) Litchi. In: Monselise SP (ed) Handbook of fruit set and development. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 233–246
Judd WS, Campbell CS, Kellogg EA, Stevens PF, Donogue MJ (2007) Plant systematics: a phylogenetic approach. Sinauer, Sunderland
Kilari ES, Putta S (2016) Biological and phytopharmacological descriptions of Litchi chinensis. Pharmcognosy Rev 10(19):60–65
King J, Exley EM, Vithanage V (1989) Insect pollination for yield increases in lychee. In: Batten DJ (ed) Proceedings of the fourth Australian conference on trees and nut crops. Exotic Fruit Growers Association, Lismore, pp 142–145
Kraai A (1962) How long do honey-bees carry germinable pollen on them? Euphytica 11:53–556
Kumar R, Kumar V (2014) Impact of pollination by European honey bee, Apis mellifera L. on the yield and quality of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruits in India. Pest Manag Hortic Ecosyst 20(2):127–132
Leenhouts PW (1978) Systematic notes on the Sapindaceae-Nephelieae. Blumea 24:395–403
Li JG (2008) The litchi. China Agriculture Press, Beijing
Li LR, Fang Y (1956) The research of litchi and longan. Scientific Press, Beijing, pp 1–10
Li MF, Zheng XQ (2004) Development of SSR markers in litchi (Litchi chinensis). Hereditas 26(6):911–916
Li CQ, Wang Y, Huang XM, Li J, Wang HC, Li JG (2013) De novo assembly and characterization of fruit transcriptome in Litchi chinensis Sonn. and analysis of differentially regulated genes in fruit in response to shading. BMC Genomics 14:552
Liang J (1981) The litchi: origin, utilization and development of its culture. J Agric Trinidad Bot Appl 28:259–270
Liu CM, Mei MT (2005) Classification of lychee cultivars with RAPD analysis. Acta Hortic 665:149–1159
Liu HB, Liu YQ, Liu RG (1989) The peroxidase isozymes analysis of litchi cultivar. J Guangxi Agric Sci 5:27–29
Liu W, Xiao Z, Bao X, Yang X, Fang J, Xiang X (2015) Identifying litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cultivars and their genetic relationships using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. PLoS One 10(8):e0135390
Ma Q, Xie H, Li S, Zhang R, Zhang M, Wei X (2014) Flavonoids from the pericarps of Litchi chinensis. J Agric Food Chem 62:1073–1071078
Menzel CM (1985) Propagation of lychee: a review. Sci Hort ic 25:31–48
Menzel CM (2001) The physiology of growth and cropping in lychee. South Afr Litchi Growers Assoc Yearb 12:9–14
Menzel C (ed) (2005) Litchi and longan: botany, production and uses. CABI, Wallingford, p 26
Menzel CM, Simpson DR, Watson BJ (1993) Fruits of tropical climates: fruits of the Sapindaceae. In: Caballero B, Trugo L, Finglas P (eds) Encyclopedia of food science. Food technology and nutrition. Academic Press, London, pp 2114–2120
Messina R, Testolin R, Morgante M (1991) Isozymes for cultivar identification in kiwifruit. HortScience 26:899–902
Mitra SK, Pathak PK (2010) Litchi production in the Asia-Pacific region. Acta Hortic 863:29–36
Morio M (ed) (2006) A kaleidoscope of China. China International Press, Beijing
Müller J, Leenhouts PW (1976) A general survey of pollen types in Sapindaceae in relation to taxonomy. In: Ferguson IK, Müller J (eds) The evolutionary significance of the exine. Academic, London, pp 407–445
Mustard MJ, Liu SY, Nelson RO (1953) Observations of floral biology and fruit setting in lychee varieties. Proc Fla State Hortic Soc 66:212–220
Nacifa ST, Paolib AAS, Salomão LCC (2001) Morphological and anatomical development of the litchi fruit (Litchi chinensis Sonn. cv. Brewster). Fruits 56:225–233
Nakasone HY, Paull RE (1998) Litchi, longan and rambutan. In: Tropical fruits. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 173–207
Nielsen G (1985) The use of isozymes as probes to identify and label plant varieties and cultivars. In: Rattazzi MC, Scandalios JG, Whitt GS (eds) Isozymes: current topics in biological and medical research. Liss, New York, pp 569–579
Pandey RM, Sharma HC (1989) The litchi. ICAR, New Delhi
Pandey RS, Yadava RPS (1970) Pollination of litchi (Litchi chinensis) by insects with special reference to honeybees. J Apic Res 9(2):103–105
Parfitt DE, Arulsekar S (1989) Inheritance and isozyme diversity for GPI and PGM among grape cultivars. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 114:486–491
Peng HX, Cao HQ, Zhu JH, Liao HH, Huang FZ, Li JZ et al (2006) Studies on the application of AFLP molecular markers on genetic diversity and classification of good and rare litchi resources in Guangxi. Southwest China J Agric Sci 19:108–111
Pivovaro SZ (1974) Studies on the floral biology and the influence of growth regulators on fruit set, size and drop of Litchi chinensis Sonn. M.Sc. thesis, Hebrew University, Rehovat
Prasad US (1977) Physiological studies on ripening of litchi of Bhagalpur. Ph.D. thesis, Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur
Prasad US (2000) Growth and ripening of litchi fruits. In: Pandey AK, Dhakal T (eds) Advances in plant reproductive biology. Narendra, Delhi
Prasad JS, Kumar R, Mishra M, Singh AK, Prasad US (1996) Characteristics of litchi seed germination. Hortic Sci 31:1187–1189
Putta EK, Sastry N (2014) Screening of methanolic fruit pericarp extract of Litchi chinensis against various disease conditions. AJPHR 2:300–306
Radlkofer L (1890) Ueber die Gliederung der Familie der Sapindaceen. Sitzungsberichte der Königl Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München 20:105–379
Radlkofer L (1933) Sapindaceae. In: Engler A (ed) Das Pflanzenreich: Regni Vegetabilis Conspectus (IV) 165 (Heft 98ah). Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig
Ray PK (ed) (1996) Litchi. Breeding of tropical and subtropical fruits. Narosa, Delhi, pp 129–142
Ray PK (ed) (2002) Breeding tropical and subtropical fruits. Springer, Berlin, pp 129–142
Ray PK, Sharma SB (1985) Viability of Litchi chinensis seeds when stored in air and in water. J Agric Sci Camb 104:247–248
Sakurai T, Nishioka H, Fujii H, Nakano N, Kizaki T, Radak Z, Izawa T, Haga S, Ohno H (2008) Antioxidative effects of a new lychee fruit-derived polyphenol mixture, oligonol, converted into a low-molecular form in adipocytes. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 72(2):463–476
Sarin NB, Prasad US, Kumar M, Jain SM (2009) Litchi breeding for genetic improvement. In: Jain SM, Priyadarshan PM (eds) Breeding plantation tree crops: tropical species. Springer, New York, pp 217–245
Savolainen V, Fay MF, Albach DC, Backlund A, Van der Bank M, Cameron KM, Johnson SA, Lledó MD, Pintaud JC, Powell M, Sheahan MC, Soltis DE, Soltis PS, Weston P, Whitten WM, Wurdack KJ, Chase MW (2000) Phylogeny of the eudicots: a newly complete familial analysis based on rbcL gene sequences. Kew Bull 55:257–309
Saxena S, Hajare SN, More V, Kumar S, Wadhawan S, Mishra BB, Parte MN, Gautam S, Sharma A (2011) Antioxidant and radioprotective properties of commercially grown litchi (Litchi chinensis) from India. Food Chem 126:39–45
Sharma G (ed) (2009) Systematics of fruit crop. New India Publishing, New Delhi, pp 193–198
Singh AK, Prasad US (1991) Dehydration pattern and viability loss in seeds of two cultivars of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Seed Res 19:41–43
Singh ABA, Srivastava S (1987) Variation in quality traits of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cultivars. J Food Sci Technol 4(5):264–266
Singh A, Pandey SD, Nath V (2012) The world litchi cultivars. Technical bulletin 007 NRC for litchi. Mushahari, Muzaffarpur
Singh JP, Chandel R, Mishra B, Suneetha V (2013) Evaluation of antimicrobial and antioxidant property of lychee’s seed for therapeutic purpose. Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res 19:72–76
Stearn WT (1972) A.W. Smith: a gardener’s dictionary of plant names: a handbook on the origin and meaning of some plant names. Littlehampton Book Services, New York
Stern RA, Eisenstein H, Voet H, Gazit S (1996) Anatomical structure of two day old litchi ovules in relation to fruit set and yield. J Hortic Sci 71(4):661–671
Subhadrabandhu S, Stern RA (2005) Taxonomy, botany and plant development. In: Menzel CM, Waite GK (eds) Litchi and longan. Comwell Press, Trowbridge, pp 25–34
Takhtajan A (1980) Outline of the classification of flowering plants (Magnoliophyta). Bot Rev 46(3):225–359
Takhtajan A (1987) Systema Magnoliophytorum. Soviet Sciences Press, Leningrad
Thorne RF, Reveal JL (2007) An update classification of the class Magnoliopsida (“Angiospermae”). Bot Rev 73:67–182
Tindall HD (2010) Sapindaceous fruits: botany and horticulture. In: Janick J (ed) Hortic Rev 16:143–189
Tongdee SC (1997) Longan. In: Mitra S (ed) Postharvest physiology and storage of tropical and subtropical fruits. CAB International, New York, pp 335–345
Wang JB, Deng SS, Liu ZY, Liu LZ, Du ZJ, Xu BY, et al (2006a) RAPD analysis on main cultivars of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) in Hainan. J Agric Biotechnol 4:391–39396
Wang X, Yuan S, Wang J, Lin P, Liu G, Lu Y (2006b) Anticancer activity of litchi fruit pericarp extract against human breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 215:168–178
Wang HC, Huang HB, Huang XM (2007) Different effects of abscisic acid and ethylene on the fruit maturation of Litchi chinensis Sonn. Plant Growth Regul 52:189–198
Wei SX, Chen YY, Xie ZS, Zhu M, Luo SR (2006) ISSR analysis of parts of lychee germplasm in Hainan province. Chin J Trop Crops 27:51–555
Wei YZ, Zhang HN, Li WC, Xie JH et al (2013) Phenological growth stages of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) using the extended BBCH-scale. Sci Hortic 161:273–277
Wu SX (1998) Encyclopedia of China fruits: litchi. China Forestry Press, Beijing
Wu YH, Chiu CH, Yang DJ, Lin YL, Tseng JK, Chen YC (2013) Inhibitory effects of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) flower-water extracts on lipase activity and diet-induced obesity. J Funct Foods 5:923–929
Xia Q, Chen HRZ, Fu JR (1992a) Effect of desiccation, temperature and other factors on the germination of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and longan (Euphoria longan Steud.) seeds. Seed Sci Technol 20:119–127
Xia Q, Chen HRZ, Fu ZJR (1992b) Moist storage of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and longan (Euphoria longan Steud.) seeds. Seed Sci Technol 20:269–2279
Xiang X, Ou LX, Chen HB, Sun QM, Chen JZ, Cai CH, et al (2010) ESTSSR analysis of genetic diversity in 96 litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) germplasm resources in China. Genomics Appl Biol 29:1082–101092
Yamanishi R, Yoshigai E, Okuyama T, Mori M, Murase H, Machida T (2014) The anti-inflammatory effects of flavanol-rich lychee fruit extract in rat hepatocytes. PLoS One 9:e93818
Yang DJ, Chang YY, Hsu CL, Liu CW, Wang Y, Chen YC (2010) Protective effect of a litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)-flower-water-extract on cardiovascular health in a high-fat/cholesterol-dietary hamsters. Food Chem 119:1457–1464
Yang DJ, Chang YZ, Chen YC, Liu SC, Hsu CH, Lin JT (2012) Antioxidant effect and active components of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) flower. Food Chem Toxicol 50:3056–3061
Yao QR, Zhao CZ, Wang WQ (2009) Analysis of genetic relationship of Hainan litchi germplasm resources by SSR marker. B Bot Res 29:628–632
Yeap CK (1987) The sapindaceous fruits and nuts. Yearbook of the West Australian Nut and Tree Crops Association 12:16–33
Yi GJ, Huo HQ, Chen DC, Huang ZR, Cai CH, Qiu YP (2003) Studies on genetic relationship among litchi varieties by using AFLP. Acta Hortic Sin 30:399–403
Zan FG, Wu ZD, Zeng Q, Zhang HY, Li MF, Zheng XQ (2009) Genetic diversity analysis of litchi germplasm by SRAP markers. Mol Plant Breed 7:562–56568
Zhang Z, Yuan P, Wang B, Qiu Y, Li J (1997) Litchi: pictorial narration of cultivation. In: Zhang Z (ed) Pomol Res Inst Guangdong Acad Agric Sci China
Zhou Y, Wang H, Yang R, Huang H, Sun Y, Shen Y (2012) Effects of Litchi chinensis fruit isolates on prostaglandin E (2) and nitric oxide production in J774 murine macrophage cells. BMC Compl Altern Med 12:12
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Soni, R., Agrawal, S. (2017). Litchi chinensis: Taxonomy, Botany and Its Cultivars. In: Kumar, M., Kumar, V., Bhalla-Sarin, N., Varma, A. (eds) Lychee Disease Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4247-8_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4247-8_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4246-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4247-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)