King Lychee

[simon_grow]

So I was shopping at 99 Ranch market and found these “ Litchi King” Lychees and they are friggin huge. The larger ones are about 75g and are larger than a chicken egg. Every single fruit is extremely large. These Lychees are from China and they have a sweet, slight subacid flavor. The peel is thick and has a tannin taste if you try to bite through it. There is little to no Lychee/Rose flavor and the flesh has a slight taste that I don’t like so much. I rate this Lychee a C+. Oh yeah, the seed is pretty large but there is still a lot of flesh.







Simon

[shot]

erdon lee lychee they call king

[Seanny]

Starting seedlings?

[Mike T]

That is erdon lee alright and they can get even bigger. Fay zee siu larger selections can get well over 50g. Erdon lee are routinely over 60g and max out at over 100g in the biggest specimens. They are a smaller tree than most regular lychees and an alternative name is dragon egg. King would be an unfortunate name as it would cause confusion.

[simon_grow]

Thanks Shot and Mike T! I was thinking they looked like Erdon Lee but the box said Litchi King.

Seanny, I’m not going to try to plant the seed because it was from China so probably irradiated but even if it wasn’t, I didn’t like the flavor so much. My daughters love Lychees but they only ate a couple and stopped. Yes they’re huge but I’m a fan of quality over quantity.

Simon

[shot]

I don't think you can rate quality to quick on Erdon.MikeT has had fresh Erdon and he seemed to like it ,ask him.God knows what kind of treatment they have been through on their journey.

[Galatians522]

This may be a long shot, but the lychee we grow in Florida as Emperor is the Thai variety Chakrapad (Chakrapad being the English transliteration of the Thai word for Emperor). My guess is that Thai to Chinese to English came out as "King." In any case, the genetic study that I read from South Africa, Erdon Lee, Chakrapad (Emperor), and the Chinese variety Goose Egg were all distinct but clustered very closely (kind of like the various strains of Mauritius or Tai So).

[happyhana]

I’ve web searched lychee king awhile back. If I remember correct they are special because of the arid volcanic soils they grow in on north Hainan island, suppose to concentrate a certain mineral the Chinese find healthy.

[happyhana]

In other giant lychee news there’s a grower in South Africa, Neo Fresh, that appear to be working with Erdon Lee genetics to produce their own cultivars Neo-mungous and Neo-licious.

Check out the video here:
https://neofresh.net/our-farms/litchi-production/

[shot]

This may be a long shot, but the lychee we grow in Florida as Emperor is the Thai variety Chakrapad (Chakrapad being the English transliteration of the Thai word for Emperor). My guess is that Thai to Chinese to English came out as "King." In any case, the genetic study that I read from South Africa, Erdon Lee, Chakrapad (Emperor), and the Chinese variety Goose Egg were all distinct but clustered very closely (kind of like the various strains of Mauritius or Tai So).

That's been my thinking

[simon_grow]

Good point John! It would be great to taste this variety straight from the tree.

These fruit are impressive for their size but I’m even more interested in the new varieties from this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xbpg0hlsIE

Simon

[K-Rimes]

I believe I encountered some Erdon Lee when I was up in Vancouver. Real big. The flavor was not unbelievable, but it was good eating, almost overwhelming sized. The seeds were also large... And are sprouting. 

[Mike T]

They are good quality fruit but less crisp than some.They might be stored too long or picked too early if not so good.

[CarolinaZone]

I can't wait for the larger improved cultivars to hit the US. I have not seen large litchies in my area.

[CarolinaZone]

Thanks Shot and Mike T! I was thinking they looked like Erdon Lee but the box said Litchi King.

Seanny, I’m not going to try to plant the seed because it was from China so probably irradiated but even if it wasn’t, I didn’t like the flavor so much. My daughters love Lychees but they only ate a couple and stopped. Yes they’re huge but I’m a fan of quality over quantity.

Simon

What makes you think they are iradiated? Put it in the ground and give it a try.

[shot]

Thank you Simon for video link,fantastic.

[simon_grow]

Anytime John!

I ate another box of the King/Erdon Lee and compared them with some Kaimana fruit and I definitely prefer the Kaimana over the Erdon Lee. Some of the Erdon Lees were a bit sweeter but some had a slight medicinal or herby taste that me and my family don’t like much. The Erdon Lee fruit have a Brix of 12.9- 16 % Brix

Kaimana was definitely much sweeter with a Brix of 19- 23% and a high flesh to seed ratio. Kaimana is also weak in terms of Lychee/Rose scent and flavor but it doesn’t have the medicinal taste that some Lychees have. Kaimana also has a nice honey background if picked properly.

Here’s a few pictures of the King/Erdon Lee next to Kaimana

[sc4001992]

Simon, how would you rate the taste of Sweetheart to Kaimana?

[simon_grow]

Hey Kaz,

I rate SweetHeart about 7.5 out of 10 and I rate Kaimana 8.0 out of 10. They are both on par with each other but Sweetheart can sometimes get that medicinal/tannin taste. I have been to China and Hong Kong during Lychee season on multiple occasions so I’ve had really good Lychees picked right off the tree so I’m a tough critic when it comes to Lychees.

In case anyone is wondering, No Mai Tsze is my favorite tasting Lychee but I have not tasted those newer varieties in the video I posted above. No Mai Tsze is a terrible grower and also is one of the most reluctant producers in China. It often skips a few years before fruiting again.

Simon

[shot]

Kaimana is very good when I sell it to the vietnamese I call it Chom Chom "Rambutan" lychee and it does make me think of the best rambutan i ever had !They go nuts over it.No Mai Tsze is the king for me beyond good!!

[Seanny]

I’m hooked!

Where to buy No Mai Tsze tree?

[happyhana]

Those king and Erdon Lee pics look under ripe and or long storage.

The Erdon Lee I had Australia were delicious but lacked a distinct flavor. On taste alone not many would call them a favorite but they have that wow factor and a lot of juicy flesh to eat despite the large seed. Also they opened dry for me which I appreciate.

As an aside the Australian Kwai May Pinks were fantastic, distinct cinnamon flavor.

[sc4001992]

Ok, thanks Simon, will need to buy another Kaimana tree, my other one died in 6 months from online.

I hope my NMZ grafted branch grows more. The one I grafted on longan just died this year so only one branch I have is on my Brewster lychee tree.

I did go buy some of those giant King Lychee, they sure are large. I'll post some photos of the big ones later. Hope they taste ok, if not, I'll just grow out the seeds. I have a few Erdon Lee seeds growing.

[sc4001992]

Seanny, you can buy the NMT from Fruit4me on sale now, only one plant.

[Seanny]

Max and I have been communicating.
Told him I might be dead before I eat any fruits from that tree.

A tree that fruit in 4 years is good.