Lychee

An evergreen tree of the soapberry family, forming a dense, rounded, symmetrical canopy that extends nearly to the ground, with glossy compound leaves that flush bronze-red. Small greenish flowers in long drooping panicles are followed by clusters of round, warty fruit whose skin turns strawberry red; inside, a translucent white aril of sweet, subacid flavour surrounds a single dark seed. Reliable fruiting needs a dry, cool but frost-free winter, so the tree crops poorly in the lowland tropics.