It’s lychee[efn_note]aka litchi chinensis. In Chinese it’s 荔枝 which in Mandarin is pronounced lìzhī (lee-jer), in Cantonese lai6 zi1 (lie-zee) and in Hokkien nāi-tsi (nigh-jee). In medieval Chinese it was something like lee-chee (lejH-tsye in Baxter’s transcription). So medieval Chinese can easily account for the LEE-chee pronunciation, while Cantonese and Hokkien can account for the LIE-chee pronunciation. Turns out Mandarin is the strangest.[/efn_note] season in Taiwan and the season is not a long one. I swear they’re only in season for like a week or two and then you can’t find them anymore, replaced by longans.[efn_note]龍眼 lóngyǎn, which means “dragon eye”.[/efn_note] Now longans are good, but they’re no lychee. Lychees have this floral flavor to them that is just unmatched. Longans are good, but they lack that floral note and have a lighter flavor. Those damn things seem to last the rest of the summer, while the superior lychee is here and gone.