Eriobotrya japonica
Common name: 
Loquat
Pronunciation: 
e-ri-o-BOT-ri-a, e-ree-o-BOT-ree-a ja-PON-i-ka
Family: 
Rosaceae
Genus: 
Synonyms: 
Mespilus japonica
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Evergreen tree, to about 15-30 ft (4.5-9 m) tall, equal width if sited in the sun, narrower in the shade.  Leaves alternate, simple, obovate to elliptic-oblong, 15-30 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, leathery, base wedge-shaped (cuneate), remotely toothed, very obvious parallel veins, lustrous dark green above, rusty-tomentose below.  Flowers white, fragrant, about 1 cm across, 5 petals, nearly hidden in the rusty wooly pubescence in the terminal cluster, 10-16 cm long; clusters formed the summer before they bloom.  Fruit spherical to pear shaped, 3-4 cm long, orange to yellow, edible (from sweet to tart), seeds large, 1-1.5 cm long, ripen in winter and spring.
  • Sun to partial shade.  Withstands alkaline soil.  Grown as an ornamental from seeds and hence with uncertain fruit quality; selected cultivars are used when grown for fruit, including ‘Champagne’, white-fleshed; ‘Gold Nugget’, flavor sweet and somewhat reminiscent of apricot, good for cooler areas; ‘MacBeth’ large fruit.  Many hundreds of selections have been made in Asia.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone (7) 8    Native to southeastern China, it is now extensively cultivated for its fruit in subtropical and warm-temperate climates throughout the world.
  • Corvallis: 1545 NW Monroe Ave.
  • Oregon State University campus:  westside of Cordley Hall
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • leaves

    leaves

  • flower bud clusters

    flower bud clusters

  • flower bud cluster

    flower bud cluster

  • flower cluster

    flower cluster

  • flowers

    flowers

  • flower

    flower

  • immature fruit cluster

    immature fruit cluster

  • leaves and immature fruit

    leaves and immature fruit

  • leaves and ripe fruit

    leaves and ripe fruit

  • ripe fruit cluster

    ripe fruit cluster

  • fruit in a market

    fruit in a market

  • trunk,  bark

    trunk, bark