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mfajar

Help with lychee id

mfajar
12 years ago

Hi again. I posted some time back with possible id of Brewster or meritus. One member suggested I post back with fruits. Here it is, I can't wait to try it! But in the meantime maybe someone can tell what it is. Thanks:)



Comments (40)

  • hmhausman
    12 years ago

    Its way too early for it to be Brewster. I would say that it is a Mauritius.

    Harry

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    difficult to id before the fruit ripens. heres how u can tell mauritius from brewster.

    mauritius-
    ripen from may 20th to june 15th
    skin is about 2/3 red and 1/3 red
    fruit is larger than brewster
    fruit has great acid-sugar mix
    has a decent number of small stones
    fruit are heart shaped and larger than brewster

    brewster
    ripens from june 15 to july 5th
    skin is completely red and a little smaller than mauritius
    flesh is completely sweet- no acid. juicier than mauritius
    fruit is more oval shaped and smaller than mauritius. stones are large.

    incredible tree you have there- r u in florida? if yes, where about. how long have u had it. what an incredible fruit set you have

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    if harry is right and u have a mauritius, u have, in my opinion, the finest lychee, and indeed the finest fruit in the world

  • newgen
    12 years ago

    Holy cow! How large is that tree? How old is it? Do you sell the fruits to grocery stores?

  • mango_kush
    12 years ago

    Ive tasted 8 varieties of lychee and Mauritius would come dead last because if its aftertaste. best is sweetheart, huge clean dry type, many chicken tongue seeds, excellent flavor

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Harry, thanks for the additional help! I will post again when the fruit is ready. Newgen, How old is the tree, I'm not sure, Harry estimated a while back maybe 17 yrs.
    Lycheeluva, This is my second season in this house and last year there were some panicles but no flowers that I could see or fruits. And yes I'm in Fl, SW Miami.
    Mangokush, let's see if the fruit is no good it will be a shame but I will still keep the tree because it is in my opinion gorgeous, although I will prune it a bit because it's too big and last year it lost some of it's round shape.
    Thanks again!

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    mfajar- do you have any other fruit trees in your garden?

    re mauritius taste- I too have tasted many lychee varities and I think mauritius is far and away the best. So if yours is a mauritius, and based on the fact that its already starting to pink up, it may well be, i think u will be absolutely thrilled with it. Mango kush may have eaten a bad one or a mis identified one or maybe he just didnt like it, but mauritius is the most planted lychee variety for a very good reason.

    one thing that makes me wonder though if yours really is mauritius is that it didnt fruit last year. mauritius is a pretty reliable cropper and its quite unusual for it to miss a season, as long as it gets enough chilling hours, which miami got last year. harry, your thoughts?

    oh well, we will be able to tell for sure in a couple of weeks.

    here is a picture of some mature mauritius fruit.

    the two bunches on the right r mauritius-
    the bunch on the left is hak ip i think, though i am not certain. although at first glance the two varities look kinda similar, if you look closely, u can see that the mauritius have a smooth skin whereas the "hak ip" have a spiny skin. also the hak ip has a more pointed bottom, and they are a little larger. also the hak ip has a higher percentage of aborted seeds than mauritius. also notice that mauritius has plenty of green to it, even though they r fully ripe. the brewster would be solid red.

  • mango_kush
    12 years ago

    Wasnt just a bad one, I sampled mauritius from several trees, In fact Mauritius is one of the few lychees I can immediately identify from its aftertaste, some people I guess dont detect it but Im not the only one who does, its the biggest objection I get when introducing new people to lychees with Mauritius. Mauritius is probably the most reliable bearer grown in Florida and most popular, though, even if you dont like the fruit personally they command $5 a pound on craigslist and will not last long.

    obviously taste is subjective, but I think you will be hard pressed to find someone who prefers mauritius over many of the newer introduced cultivars

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    Ive tasted about 6 varities but not sweetheart. Mauritius is by far my fave so far. but like you said, taste is subjective. I think fine wines and beer taste horrible.

    I've heard people complain of mauritius not being as weet as brewster but ive never heard of people complaining that mauritius has an after taste. that is a complaint I usually hear about hak ip, which as shown above, looks pretty similar to mauritius, and also ripens at the same time as mauritius. i dont want to question your lychee expertise because I have no idea how knowledgable you are about lychees, but im wondering if what youve always identified as mauritius is in fact hak ip.

    even many florida growers are cluesless about which variety is which.

  • jeffhagen
    12 years ago

    I'm with lycheeluva - the mauritius is delicious! I actually like it better than the sweetheart⢠flavor-wise. Judging solely by amount of flesh, the sweetheart wins without contest. My wife, on the other hand, does seem to prefer the sweetheartâ¢. She prefers sweet to sour. But, right now... I'm going through mauritius lychees like they were peanuts!!! Yummy!!

    Jeff

  • jeffhagen
    12 years ago

    lycheeluva - interesting comment on the hak ip. This is probably a bit crude - but I do remember that the hak ips I had a couple of years back gave me gross tasting burps. I didn't put 2 and 2 together until you mentioned that.

    Jeff

  • sleep
    12 years ago

    What a beautiful tree. I agree with most and guess a mauritius.

    Congrats on your bounty :)

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    jef- r there ripe mauritius where you are, right now? if u r in florida, i thought they were still a week or so away from ripening?

  • jeffhagen
    12 years ago

    Yep, I'm in Fort Lauderdale area. I just spoke with Harry who said the same thing about the mauritius being ripe around May 20. Only a small portion are ripe. I think I also pick them slightly underripe, partly because I just can wait to gobble them down and partly because I like sour-ish lychees :-). I can't think of a better fruit experience than eating lychees directly off the tree... !

    Jeff

  • fruit_guy
    12 years ago

    'Mauritius' is the most popular here in South Florida for the reason lycheeluva stated - it is the most consistent bearer (at least of the older varieties), fruiting 9 years out of 10 on average. Whether it is the best tasting is a matter of personal opinion. My opinion - I have never met a ripe lychee that I didn't like! Same thing with the old "What's the best tasting mango?" question. Some like this one, others like that one and I like them all. (Note - If you have TOO MANY, let me know and I will take them off of your hands - no charge!)

    Of course the best way is to taste for yourself so for those of you who are (or are going to be) in the South Florida area, consider yourself invited to the following event:

    Open house at the USDA - Chapman Field, where you can taste all the lychees that they are growing on the station. How much will that cost you? Nothing, its FREE!!

    WHEN: Saturday, June 4, 10 am to 3 pm
    WHERE: USDA-ARS, 13601 Old Cutler Rd, Miami, Florida Located between Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay.

    As far as an aftertaste, this is the first I am hearing of it, but by the same token, I do believe it, much the same as some people detect an aftertaste with that horridly nasty fruit, Surinam-cherry, and others do not. (Guess which category I fall into?) lol

  • jeffhagen
    12 years ago

    Ohh good point on the surinam cherry. Some palates are more sensitive than others. I, for one, think that surinam cherry tastes like sweet paint thinner. Yet, I've met folks who look at me strangely when I mention the resinous flavor of the surinam cherry.

    Jeff

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    jeff- what varities of lychee do you grow and do you grow any other fruit?

  • pepperot
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the notice fruit guy! Are you only allowed to sample from the USDA? Or can you haul away bags like a lychee thief?

    Tom

  • jeffhagen
    12 years ago

    Lycheeluva - The only cultivar of lychee that I have in the ground is a mauritius. It's 4 to 5 years old and maybe 12 feet tall. Just today I planted out a hak ip in place of a cashew tree that got beat up during the last 2 cold winters.

    As for other fruits, I've a few things planted out. My home was owned for 25 years by a charter member of the broward rare fruit and veggie council. Hurricanes and the canker program took out a good portion of what was originally planted, but there are still a few very nice, 20+ year old specimens. When I bought the property in 2005 I went berzerk replanting everything that was lost .. and then some :-). In ground I have 9 cultivars of mango, 4 cultivars of avocado, guava, green sapote, carambola, mammea americana (thanks to sheehan :-), 3 cultivars of jackfruit, barbados cherry, 2 cultivars of atemoya, lychee, 2 cultivars of pomegranate, indian jujube, 2 cultivars of sapodilla, ambarella, hogs plum, vexator, 2 cultivars of persimmon, sugar apple, banana, cherry rio grande, grumichama, cherry mangosteen, passion fruit, papaya, white sapote, olosapo, and ... there's probably something I'm forgetting. In pot, I have everything under the sun :-).

    Jeff

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Wow Jeff, now that's a backyard! Lycheeluva, I have some other fruit trees but my collection is not as big and most still babies! I'm a bit of a mango nut so I have a few with Pickering being my favorite. I have other fruits but my new obsession is the jaboticaba, the fruit is to die for and the tree is very nice. Still a long ways to go on those, I have one seed grown and one air layered.

  • fruit_guy
    12 years ago

    Tom, I suspect they will only allow tastings. I hope that I am wrong. I'll bring a garbage bag just in case!

    Too bad we are not in Thailand. I just read about how you can now get home delivery of lychees direct from the farmer with your copy of the Thailand Post. You can sign up at the post office. There is one caveat - you can only get what is described as the "best" variety there - 'Khom'. No mention of international delivery. :-(

  • squam256
    12 years ago

    fruit guy, where did you read/hear about the USDA doing an open house? I've never heard of that before and always figured that they didn't have such events. Definitely will try to attend.

  • fruit_guy
    12 years ago

    squam256, i was sent a flyer about the event. I can forward it to you if you like. They originally were going to have it a month ago but with the uncertainty of the federal budget, it got pushed back. Works out good for us as now the lychees will be ready!!!

  • squam256
    12 years ago

    fruit guy, please do! I'm very interested in attending. thanks.

  • sleep
    12 years ago

    I would like to go as well, will you send me a flyer too?

    Thanks :)

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Ok so here is the fruit, juicy, very sweet most are ripe but some will be ready by the weekend. Any definite id?
    Thanks in advance!


    And the tree before I give it a nice "hair cut" by the way, how much can I cut without affecting fruit production?



    That's another angle, looks even bigger!

  • simon_grow
    12 years ago

    It looks like a brewster to me. It has a lot of red, large seed and sweet flesh so that all points to brewster. Could this have been a seedling lychee? I really love the sweet flesh of brewster and when you find one with a chicken tongue seed, man that's like hitting the jackpot.

    Lycheeluva, the Hal ip we get here have smooth skin and medium small seeds with almost no chicken tongue seeds. They look a lot like the Mauritius you posted.

    Does anyone know what varieties of lychees they have at the USDA in Florida?

  • fruit_guy
    12 years ago

    mfajar i agree that it looks like 'Brewster'.

    Information from presentations by Univ. Florida professors at the local fruit club indicate that you can (should?) cut the branches back 18 inches or so. This is supposed to promote more regular flowering.

  • puglvr1
    12 years ago

    Man, that tree is HUGE!! It sure can use some pugging,lol...

    Simon, have you heard from Phase lately? I've missed seeing him on the forums lately. Sure would love an update picture of his Lychee tree. If you talk to him...tell him we want some new pictures :o)

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the help! I think it is Brewster! Too red to be mauritius the only thing that is still throwing me off is that Brewster is supposed to be June- July.
    And yes it needs a pugging!!!! Specially with hurricane season approaching just to be on the safe side :)
    Again thanks for the help!

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    i also think it is too red and small to be a mauritius- does look like a brewster but it is ripe a little early. wonder if its a brewster seedling or if its one of the more unusual varities

  • franktank232
    12 years ago

    How do you get the fruit at the top of the tree?

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Franktank...very good question! I have no idea yet! I'll be figuring it out this weekend. This is my second summer in this house and there was not one single fruit last year.

  • jsvand5
    12 years ago

    Harry has a big Picker/grabber. Try asking him where he got it. I think it extended up to 16 or 20ft if I am remembering right.

  • simon_grow
    12 years ago

    mfajar, your tree is absolutely beautiful! Lychee ripen very fast and should be picked as soon as they ripen. You may consider hiring a professional arborist to head back your tree to a manageable size unless you plan on selling your fruit and want the largest harvest possible.

    Hey puglvr1, Phase is on vacation in China, probably gorging himself on No Mai Tsze ( I forget when Lychee season is in China). I'll ask him for an updated pic when he gets back.

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    mfajar- can you e-mail me at grunsfeld@gmail.com, i want to get in touch with you

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Lycheeluva, I did not want to be rude and not reply, but based on your deep love for lychee I can only assume (I know what they say about ASSuming) you want to buy. I'm not selling, no time during the week. We are having a lychee party this weekend and will give out to my family and friends. Anything left I will freeze to make syrup for lychee martinis :) yeap I plan on drinking after mango season is over ;)
    Sorry, oh and if I assumed wrong let me know. I feel horrible for writing this post after all the help and coments :(

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    well actually, i and a few other forum members r getting together in the miami and fl area this sunday and monday and i thought it might be fun to come by and take a gander at your tree, if u were up for it. delicious tho your lychees look, i have access to as many lychees as i like in china town and have been eating about 5 pounds a day since the season began, so i was not interested in buying your lychees but rather checking out your stunning tree

  • mfajar
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Oh well I knew ASSuming was wrong on my part! But I'll tell you something eventhough I've been lurking here since last year and already know the names of the usual members and I know you meet in places and take this fruit tree loving thing very seriously (like me) I am not yet ready to give my addy out. I'll promise I'll update pics, and with time, maybe next season as I get to know all of you better I can host a forum lychee party.... I hope you have a wonderful time in Fl. Don't skip a drive down Krome Ave, there is ALWAYS something interesting there!

  • lycheeluva
    12 years ago

    totally understand and we have plenty to see as it is.
    feel free to email me if you want to hook up with us on our orchard visits

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