New Lychee Variety (forum)

Brendan starts with ...
Hi Mike (& everyone else:-).
A pro lychee grower at Sarina is growing a new variety of lychee called Erdon Lee.
The normal lychee weighs between 22g and 25g, this new Erdon Lee weighs up to 100g!
Do you know the Erdon Lee?

Time: 12th February 2012 8:43am

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Mike says...
Brendon I have never heard of it and only a fai zee siu could approach those dimension in Aust.I thought.It will have to be a renamed sth chinese or nth thailand sort I reckon.I wonder what its real name is?Have you seen them? If we know its colour,skin,shape,season,tree shape andfoliage type we could look through the tables of the 100's of chines ones to find a match.

Time: 12th February 2012 8:56am

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Brendan says...
Hi Mike, this grower actually went to China and bought them back, legally of course. He sourced it from the research station in China. I 'think' it's a brand new variety.

He says,"Normally it takes a lychee tree 5 to 7 years to produce fruit, but the Erdon Lee is producing in just 3 years".

There's a story & photos in the latest Blue's Country Magazine (Feb 2012).

Geez they look good, just normal colour, but a lot bigger!

Time: 12th February 2012 9:10am

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Mike says...
Brendan most of the new ones are local types that get brough into commercial production.3 years is pretty normal for the first light crop.I wonder what it taste like? Maybe it could muscle fai zee siu out of the premier position if it has small seeds and a good tatse.100g sounds a bit exaggerated but if it is in black and white it must be true.
I bet it will be grown under licence or agreement with no one else getting trees.Mangoes,lychees,dragon fruit and wax apples are vulnerable to good overseas ones storming the market because we are behind with varieties.

Time: 12th February 2012 9:19am

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Peter says...
I am a bit suspicious with large fruits of new cultivars. Mostly, it goes to cost of flavor. Could be years later, those will finally hit the WA market, so we get a taste as well.

Time: 12th February 2012 1:48pm

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Mike says...
Peter I suspect you are right but I'm optimistic after trying sensational lychees in Chang Mai.Look at how bad bengal lychees are and kwai mai pink (bosworth) are small and have only a sugar water flavour with no 'rose' or 'musk'.Fai zee siu are huge,with a small seed and great flavour,at least as good as mauritious.Yook ho pow was supposed to be a new wonder lychee that disappeared into the fog never to be heard from again.
There are factors like productivity and disease resistance that are as important to a grower as fruit quality.

Time: 12th February 2012 2:06pm

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Mike says...
On reflection if kwai mai is around 20-25g,tai so and haak yip 25-30g and fai zee sui 30-40g, I just don't believe that 100g lychees are out there.If that is not true I would wonder about other characteristics claimed of this new variety.

Time: 12th February 2012 3:47pm

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Peter says...
We are so behind in WA. All what's there on the shelves is simply called lychee - no cultivar name. I would have no idea which one it is and the market is so small that there is no motivation to supply top quality to eager customers. They seem to just sit on the shelves until brown and tasteless. Every cultivar grown in someones backyard will be way better then what we get in the shops (even Bengal).
100g would be really sensational, but could be possible - you never know. If you think of the huge Thai guavas - they are about 10 times the weight of a ordinary one. Likewise some mango cultivars. Would be good to get someone in the discussion who knows about genetics - I think something like this is possible to appear fast (without long breeding effort), when chromosomes have tripled or more...

Time: 12th February 2012 4:11pm

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Mike says...
If they were prone to polyploidy and that improved varieties it would probably have driven new variety selection in sthn china.
It is crazy that the west misses out on one of the finest fruits around.Bengals are an embarrassment to lychees.Marcots of fai zee siu and mauritious tai so should be everywhere around Perth.It is like if only the stringy turpentine mangoes were available instead of bowens.

Time: 12th February 2012 4:27pm

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Mike says...
It looks all lychees are diploid and varieties are seedling derived, with a very low proportion as good as their parents.It seems there are no experts on lychee genetics but there is chinese expertise on 'expression' in different environments.The upper size limit I found for any reference was up to 42g max for one chinese type and anything over 28g is considered large.

Time: 13th February 2012 6:59pm

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Peter says...
Diploid, low proportion of good chance seedlings...Makes this story of the giant lychee really interesting.
Unfortunately I can't access this magazine.
Are there any more details in there?
Is it maybe a new CSIRO release?

Time: 13th February 2012 7:23pm

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Brendan says...
Here's a pic of the new Erdon Lee lychee.
The one top left seems fairly big.

Pic taken from mag :-(
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 14th February 2012 11:20am

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BJ says...
sdfjseterjtyafgaertyaerugadn
Sorry, my jaw just hit the keyboard!
I'll have to make up with my estranged family in Sarina and get them to see if they sell locally, so they can send some fruit down for tasting. If they sell trees, out comes a mango!
Looks like some of the fruit also form siamese twins, doubling their size. I've found this with one longan recently too.

Time: 14th February 2012 12:24pm

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amanda says...
Wow...that's really impressive Brendan! Can't wait to hear more about this newbie.

Time: 14th February 2012 4:52pm

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Mike says...
What a picture and it appears real. Blue's Country Magazine were lucky to get the jump on National Geographic and the research station was kind to release it to Australian farmers, perhaps ahead of their own.Being more than double the size of the previous biggest is really pushing back the frontiers.This is especially excellent when it is understood the tree is precocious.I bet it is extra sweet as well.
We could all soon be tucking into 100g lychees making the rest obsolete.Why do I have these nagging doubts?

Time: 14th February 2012 5:25pm

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chillilover says...
I would love to try one of those but i have a feeling these would be firstly very expensive till the novelty wears of and secondly maybe mild flavoured. Not as sweet and more watery then the current ones. Just bcos the plant has to focus more on the size then the flavour.

Time: 14th February 2012 5:46pm

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Peter says...
Wow! I can't think of a bigger advancement in new cultivars. This fruit tree forum really helps to know the newest things. Soon someone will tell us about the taste, I am sure.
Thanks for bringing this up, Brendan.

Time: 15th February 2012 12:41am

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Brendan says...
I live about 60km from Sarina, so I'll have to go and have a look! I"ll find out if he's marcotting any, if so, I'm in. Might take Wayne too :-)

Time: 15th February 2012 8:03am

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trikus says...
Heard about this at Rare Fruits Australia meeting .. local DPI guy [ South Johnstone ] was in the loop .. act just talked about this today with local growers .
Maybe another species to be such large size ?

Time: 15th February 2012 6:41pm

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Mike says...
Apparently it is all true but the 100g fruit part is hard to swallow.I can just imagine Brendan and Wayne hurdling fences at Campwin Beach looking for someone called Tibby.Trikus if it was Yan, sth Johnstone then it must be right.

Time: 17th February 2012 5:31pm

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Brendan says...
Hi Mike & trikus, this new variety probably has a huge seed! I noticed it wasn't mentioned in the article?

Haven't got there yet Mike :-)

Time: 18th February 2012 10:59am

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Mike says...
While even a small sprig can be grafted onto a marcot at home,I didn't really think you guys would be darting between the shadows and creating diversions.Raking your teeth over a huge seeds to get a veneer of flesh would make it like a bengal variety,except a huge disappointment instead of a medium sized one.

Time: 18th February 2012 1:29pm

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Jason says...
You are still going to have to remove just as much skin and a kilo of them is still going to cost a kilo worth.... :) where's the advantage?

Time: 18th February 2012 3:53pm

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Mike says...
Jason when you're in the supermarket comparing prices and thinking about things like seed size you'll also need to know the skin thickness.Forgetting about taste for the moment, your surface area to volume spot calculations in your cost/benefit analysis won't mean much without that skin thickness data.

Time: 18th February 2012 6:07pm

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mabey big seeds says...
dont tell us about it till we can buy it

Time: 22nd February 2012 4:54pm

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choke on a seed says...
mabey

Time: 22nd February 2012 4:57pm

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suthirat says...
I am very interested by lychee Federation where to find.

Time: 7th July 2013 3:16am

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BJ says...
Anyone hear any more about this one? I'd be interested to find out if and where they might send the fruit. I expect they won't release trees for 5-7 years, after their own orchard is at peak performance and their income stream from fruit sales is optimal and they need to diversify into selling trees.

Time: 7th December 2013 11:11am

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ivepeters says...
Any update , amyone ?

Time: 11th August 2016 11:46am

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David says...
Erdon lee Lychees for sale at the fruit shop outside Coles Garden City. Cost $39.99 per kilo. Pics to follow

Time: 10th December 2017 8:46pm

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ivepeters says...
They seem to always have something new and not common to other fruit shops.
So are they golf ball size ? 100g + ?

Time: 12th December 2017 7:33am

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Stephen.ly says...
Bought this today
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 24th December 2017 12:08am

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Stephen.ly says...
Over 6cm wide. Was $20/kg in Cabramatta.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 24th December 2017 12:09am

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lizze says...
Heard about this variety on ABC radio. As a former Nth Qlder, tropical fruit lover & hobby gardener I'm wondering if these are available to purchase on-line & shipped to SE Qld. I understand these have been only recently sold commercially into the fruit markets, but what about 1 grafted tree? thanks.

Time: 27th December 2017 11:33am

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Megan9 says...
I grow erdon lee

Time: 25th February 2018 12:54pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Megs

Just wondering where did you sourced your E. Lee tree? What type of propagation technique was employed?

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 2nd March 2018 5:34pm

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Trikus says...
Lychee are only produced by marcots.


Time: 2nd March 2018 8:13pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Trikus

Thanks for the info. I have read that there are four ways to propagate lychees.

1. Seeds - selection of improved cultivars can only come from the selection of new superior seedling lychee cultivars though it will take somewhere around ten years to develop a new improved variety. Unless some cashed-up growers have managed to produce genetically modified lychees in the Lab which is highly unlikely.

2. Marcotting/air layering - the most popular and the easiest form of lychee propagation with 80% or more success rate among pro growers.

3. Cutting - has also good success rate but not very popular with commercial growers because of its longer holding time before planting.

4. Grafting and Budding - can also be done but, with limited success rate and needs grafting expertise and plant material compatibility to be effective.

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 3rd March 2018 8:59pm

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tobye says...
hi wondering how they are growing for you and i believe they are available at the moment!


Time: 21st December 2018 9:22pm

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theonetruepath says...
I just bought some in Coles New Farm, Brisbane, $33 per kg. Slightly bigger than normal, like 40-45g. Skin a bit thicker, not much, but the soft skin under the shell noticeably tougher and separates from the shell more than normal. Taste very good, strong rose flavour, plenty sweet and slightly acid. Sorry I took no pics, but very similar to the pic posted previously - slightly irregular shapes, not completely round. I would love to know how the tree handles Perth...

Time: 8th February 2019 7:00pm

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David01 says...
Hi theonetruepath,

I have Erdon Lee. It grows well in Melbourne and should be no problem in Perth. Daleys sold it last year at $89 now drops to $59 which is a very good buy. It gave a lot of flowers last year but still too young to set fruit. Cheers
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 9th February 2019 11:35am

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Megan9 says...
Erdon lee this season
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3
Picture: 4
Picture: 5

Time: 10th February 2019 6:59am

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justjuice says...
For those who have tasted Erdon Lee, how would you rate it compared to other top quality lychees? Are there better tasting lychees? How about compared to Salathiel? Thanks.

Time: 3rd May 2019 4:43am

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Markmelb says...
Ive tasted some large Lychees last summer and weren't impressed - bland and quit thick skin. Couldn't find a box with variety on it. Its seed was also was quite large

Time: 3rd May 2019 5:03pm

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Sidney Robinson says...
I've tried some of them as first time saw this size in market. Want to know more about it. Really juicy and crunchy
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 12th January 2020 7:12pm

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Farouk says...
wow that's amazing, a lychee similar size to a plum.

Time: 16th January 2020 9:47am

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theonetruepath says...
This season I can buy Erdon Lee locally in Perth. They are being marketed as "Dragon Eggs" for $50 per kg. Now I've had them about five times I would rate the flavour as better than the typical super sweet smooth skin varieties but not as good as the more tasty/acid rough skin varieties we got in South Africa which are also available here now for more like $22 per kg.

Time: 16th January 2020 11:10am

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Farouk says...
Man that is ridiculous but i'd also pay that to eat something rare as this. I'd be keep the seed & treating it like gold, i'd try growing it.

Time: 16th January 2020 4:32pm

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