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The lychee (Litchi chinensisSonn.) is native to southern China where it has been cultivated for thousands of years and undergone intensive selection. The main cultivars in China include Wai Chee, Souey Tung and Haak Yip. In other countries, the lychee industries are generally based on only a few cultivars, which are nearly all of Chinese origin, e.g. Haak Yip in Taiwan; Tai So and Wai Chee in Thailand; Tai So in South Africa, Mauritius, Malagasy Republic and Reunion; Tai So and Brewster in Hawaii and Florida; and Tai So, Bengal (from India), Kwai May Pink and Wai Chee in Australia. The only exceptions are in India and in southern Thailand, where local seedling selections of Chinese cultivars are exploited. Seedling cultivars developed in the last 50 years which are becoming increasingly important include Sah Keng (Taiwan), Kaimana (Hawaii) and Salathiel (Australia).
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Menzel et al. (1990) studied this question.
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