Jeanette Sobroski, age 13, of Miami, Fla., for her question:

WHAT IS A LEECHEE?

A leechee is an evergreen tree which is widely grown in southern China. The name is also spelled litchi and lychee.

The leechee is occasionally grown in many other tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Commercial plantings of the litchi tree were started in southern Florida in the early 1940s.

The tree has glossy, light green leaves with several leaflets. It bears clusters of bright red fruits. The juicy white pulp surrounding the single seed has somewhat the flavor of a muscat grape.

Dried lichis are sometimes called litchi nuts. The fruit has a raisin like texture and a pleasant, sweet flavor.

Litchi trees grow to be 20 to 40 feet tall.