Flowers

In litchi three types of litchi flowers are found-

(i) Male or staminate flowers

These flowers are lacking pistil. The position is occupied by later structure contains a pink, pubescent protuberance which is very rudimentary or aborted form of pistil lacking both stigma and style. The filament varies in length.

(ii) Female or hermaphrodite functioning as female

            The flower is functionally female having well developed ovary and stigma. The ovary consists of 2-4 carpels with its own stigmatic lobes. Stamens with short filaments are found in flower.

(iii) Hermaphrodite flower functioning as male

Stamens and pistil are present but the lobes of stigma don't open to permit the entrance of pollen. The filaments vary in length. Stamens are in two sets of length, only those with long filaments are fertile. Pistil consists of short undivided style, arid stigmatic branches and is nonfunctional.

Fruit

The matured litchi fruit is botanically a 'nut'. Fruit are borne in cluster of 2 to 20. The ripe fruits are very delicious .The rind of litchi fruit is thin, brittle, shell like with maroon, red, green or deep brown in colour depending upon the cultivar. The aril is juicy, snow white, translucent, mealy, sweet and easily separable from the seed. The seed has a shiny chocolate or dark brown colour. Pericarp consists of epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp.

Seed

The seed is embedded in the pulpy aril. It is cylindrical, compressed piano-convex or concavo convex, ex-albuminous and chocolate in colour. In the seedless cultivars, seed is small, shriveled and non-viable.