Page 28 - Edible Trees For Tucson

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica Rosaceae

D ESCRIPTI O N
Loquats are subtropical, erect evergreen trees.
The leaves are long, alternate, simple, and
coarsely dentate with a shiny upper surface and
a lower surface covered in fine, soft hairs. In
autumn and early winter, numerous small, white
flowers are borne on the ends of the branch tips.
Loquat fruits are oblong to globe-shaped, white
to yellow in color, succulent and fleshy like an
apricot, with 1-8 smooth, large seeds. In
its native habitat, the loquat tree grows from
3,000-7,000 feet in elevation.

E THN O B O T ANI CAL N O TES
• The loquat is native to China and spread to
Japan over 2,000 years ago.
• Loquat trees are adapted to subtropical to
mild-temperature climates.
• Chinese immigrants are thought to have
carried loquats to Hawaii.
• The tree was common as a small-fruited
ornamental in California in the 1870s, and
the improved variety, Giant, was for sale in
nurseries by 1887.
• Loquats are now produced commercially
in many countries, including China, Japan,
Pakistan, Spain, Israel, Turkey and Brazil.
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