Chapter 10 Section 7 Delicious lychee and longan

Litchi and longan are evergreen and precious fruits native to southern my country, both belonging to Sapindaceae. Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn) Litchi was planted in my country as early as the 3rd century A.D. According to textual research, it was not officially named as Litchi until the Western Han Dynasty.Litchi likes high temperature and rain, and has always been distributed in subtropical and tropical regions such as Fujian, Guangdong, and Sichuan.There are 13 works describing litchi in ancient times, among which Cai Xiang's "Litchi Spectrum" in the Northern Song Dynasty is the most abundant, with 32 varieties recorded.In Ming Dynasty Xu Bo's "Litchi Spectrum" records more than 70 famous varieties, such as honey lychee, clove lychee, tortoiseshell lychee, grape lychee and so on.

Litchi is known as the queen of fruits. The ancients said: "Lychee is also a fruit, a fairy, a Buddha, and there is nothing that can be compared." It has always been regarded as a jade fruit.It is divided into four categories: oblong, heart-shaped, nearly round and round, each with its own unique flavor.For example, Chenzi lychee from Putian, Fujian Province has an oval fruit, shaped like an egg, with a bright purple shell, sweet and sour taste, and the refreshing fragrance of the serous liquid in the mouth, which is like orchid.The hanging green lychee in Guangdong has thick flesh, small core, and sweet flesh. When the fruit is ripe, it is red and purple, with a green line running straight through it, so it is called "hanging green".Now distributed in Zengcheng, Shunde, Dongguan, Xinding, Luoding more than 10 counties and cities.Another kind of lychee in Guangdong called "Crystal Ball" has white flowers, white shell, white meat, and white core, and it tastes sweet.Sichuan "Dahongpao" lychees are tender, juicy and sweet, with red shell and white flesh, hence the name Dahongpao.He litchi in Guiping, Guangxi is also famous for a long time.Litchi trees have a long lifespan, some hundreds of years or even more than a thousand years. For example, the "Orchid and Bamboo Litchi Tree" in Fujian is 400 years old, and the "Songxiang Ancient Litchi Tree" has a history of more than 1,300 years. The fruit weighs 150-300 catties. The color of the fruit is bright red, crisp and smooth without slag, and the fragrance is refreshing. People praise "Song Xiang is the first in the world, and the unique fragrance and smell are unmatched in the world." This thousand-year-old Song Xiang litchi tree has been listed as a key tree in Fujian Province. Protect cultural relics.

Litchi is a precious nourishing fruit, which has always been a fruit enjoyed by royals and dignitaries. "New Tang Book Biography of Concubine Yang Guifei" records that "the concubine is addicted to lychee, and she must want to give birth to it, so she rides it to transport it, and travels thousands of miles. The taste has not changed and has reached the capital."In order to please the imperial concubine, Tang Minghuang ordered flying horses to run every year, and passed it from Nanhai County, Guangdong to Chang'an, the capital, day and night, in order to keep the lychees bright and delicious, and win the concubine a smile.Du Mu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Passing the Huaqing Palace": "Looking back at Chang'an, there are piles of embroidery, and thousands of gates on the top of the mountain are opened for the first time. A concubine riding a red dust smiles. No one knows that it is a litchi." Galloping to offer lychees, thousands of horses dying in the valley, and the elders are sad to this day", all reflect that Tang Xuanzong transported lychees for Concubine Yang, and he did not hesitate to waste people and money.There is still a kind of lychee named "Concubine Xiao" in Guangdong.Litchi can be made into dried fruit and can also be used as medicine. It has the functions of nourishing blood, quenching thirst, strengthening the brain and strengthening the body.Chinese lychee spread to Southeast Asia in the 10th century AD, and then to Africa and America. It was introduced to Japan in the 18th century, introduced to Hawaii in 1873, and settled in Florida, USA in the 20th century.However, the color, taste, and fragrance of lychees drifting overseas are not as good as those grown on the land of the motherland.

Longan (Euphoria Longan Alam) Longan is also called longan or longan.Ancient literature records longan as a medicine, and it has been used as a precious tonic since the Han Dynasty.Longan fruit is smaller than litchi, with brown skin, thin flesh and sweet juice.It is said that "longan longan is pictographic", because of its round shape and noble quality, it is like the totem of the Chinese people - the eyes of the dragon.Ancient poems praised longan as "round like a Lizhu, red like a golden ball, flesh like glass, and core like black paint".It is consistent with the natural conditions of litchi growth, so the distribution area is the same.In the 11th century A.D., Song Dynasty Su Song's "Tu Jing Materia Medica" has stated that "longan grows in the valleys of the South China Sea, and it is present in the places where litchis come out of Fujian, Guang, and Shu roads."Su Shi in the Song Dynasty compared the two to "different from the same father and ancestor, and they are like tangerines and tangerines".From the perspective of modern plant taxonomy, longan and litchi are both Sapinaceae, with similar shapes and close relatives, only the fruit is obviously different.Litchi fruit is heart-shaped, with red skin, obvious raised nodules on the surface, thick flesh, sweet and sour and fragrant, while longan fruit is round, brown skin, smooth surface without protrusions, small in size, thin flesh, pure sweet Unscented.The longan tree is also a tall evergreen tree with majestic plants, luxuriant branches and leaves, and a lifespan of up to a hundred years. There is a longan tree in Jinjiang, Fujian, which was planted during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It has a history of more than 400 years and can bear more than 2,000 catties in a good year .At present, there are more than 400 varieties of longan in China, among which the famous "Fuyan" in Jinjiang, Fujian, "Oolong" in Xianyou, "Guangyan" in Guangdong and Guangxi, and "August Fresh" in Sichuan.Dried longan products are more valuable than dried lychees. They are called longan, which has the effects of nourishing the heart and spleen, nourishing blood and calming the nerves.Modern medicine books record: "The pulp is a nourishing and strengthening agent, treating forgetfulness, nervous palpitations, insomnia due to neurasthenia, etc. Remove the outer black skin from the core, grind it into powder, apply it to the knife wound, and stop bleeding." The dried leaves can be used as a substitute for tea drink.The longan tree has a long flowering period and is an excellent nectar source plant. The material is hard and suitable for craft carving and furniture making.Half of my country's longan is produced in Fujian, and the other half is produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Taiwan.As early as 1,000 years ago, it was introduced to India at the same time as litchi, and it was introduced to the United States, Brazil, and Southeast Asian countries in the 18th century. Its quality is far inferior to that produced in China.So far, Chinese longan still monopolizes the world market and is favored by people.