Lychee Plucking Season: Dehradun Blues

From the archive record

Ripe lychees being plucked by a plucker on top of a tree in Dehradun in Uttarakhand. Dehradun is covered with Lychee trees. The lychee (Litchi chinensis) (Chinese: 荔枝; pinyin: lì zhī) is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is a tropical and subtropical fruit tree native to southern China, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia, and now cultivated in many parts of the world. The fresh fruit has a "delicate, whitish pulp" with a floral smell and a fragrant, sweet flavor. Since this perfume-like flavor is lost in the process of canning, the fruit is usually eaten fresh. An evergreen tree reaching 10--28 metres tall, the lychee bears fleshy fruits that are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. The outside of the fruit is covered by a pink-red,