Lychee comes from Chinese 荔枝 (lìzhī), meaning the lychee branch-fruit — the word arrived in English through early Portuguese and English traders in southern China.
A small, round fruit with a rough, reddish-pink shell, translucent white flesh, and a sweet, floral flavor.
From Cantonese lai chi or Mandarin lìzhī (荔枝). The first character lì (荔) refers to the lychee tree specifically, while zhī (枝) means branch. Cultivation in southern China dates back over 2,000 years, with the fruit prized by imperial courts since the Han Dynasty. Key roots: 荔 (lì) (Chinese: "the lychee
The Tang Dynasty emperor Xuanzong famously had fresh lychees rushed from Guangdong to his capital in Chang'an by relay horseback — a journey of over 1,000 kilometers — to please his consort Yang Guifei. The poet Du Mu wrote: 'When the riders raising dust on the road made the imperial concubine smile, no one knew it was lychees coming.'