Eriobotrya japonica

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:

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.