CentralLychee2001

Lychee (HT 2001-02)

This Heritage Tree can be found in Mount Rosie Road, opposite House No. 11J.

A tall tree with metal supports around the trunk and branches stands near a road, surrounded by other greenery.

Heritage Tree in 2023, with supports (📷: Brendon Phuah)

Heritage Tree Information

Reference ID
HT 2001-02

Scientific name: Litchi chinensis
Family name: Sapindaceae
Girth: 6.9 m @ 0.8 m height
Height: 19.2 m

Location
Mount Rosie Road, opposite House No. 11J (View Map) (opens in new tab)

A slow-growing evergreen tree that reach a height of between 9-30m. Crown is dense and rounded in shape. Leaves are pinnately compound (10-20cm long) and have smooth, glossy, leathery leaflets (5-7cm long). Flowers are tiny, petal-less, greenish-white to yellow in colour. Fruits are bright red, round (2-3cm across), rough, textured skin. Seed, single, covered in sweet juicy translucent flesh.

The Lychee is a native of Southern China and has been widely cultivated for its prized fruits for more than two millennia. The Lychee is a long-lived tree related to the Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) (opens in new tab) and Longan (Dimocarpus longan) (opens in new tab) fruit trees, but it rarely fruits under local conditions.

Mount Rosie was a private driveway in the 1800's, leading to grand bungalows, and named after Ms. Rosie de Souza, wife of Mr. Theodore H. Sohst, a wealthy merchant who had lived there. They are still lined with some Lychee including this tree.

This Heritage Tree had a girth of 8.1 m when measured in 2001.

For more information on this species, please refer to NParks Flora & Fauna Web profile. (opens in new tab)