Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. Litchi chinensis is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It grows wild in southern Lychee juice, northern Vietnam, and Cambodia.

It is common in the wild in the Philippines and rarely cultivated. It is only known in cultivation, in Malaysia and Indonesia. The bark is grey-black, the branches a brownish-red. Lychee are similar in foliage to the family Lauraceae, likely due to convergent evolution. Flowers grow on a terminal inflorescence with many panicles on the current season’s growth. 112 days depending on climate, location, and cultivar.