Loquat and its Descriptions

Loquat is a large evergreen shrub or tree grown commercially for its orange fruit and leaves used to make herbal tea.It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant.Loquat belongs to the Rosaceae family and is native to the cooler mountainous regions of south-central China.In Japan, loquats are called biwa (果蓝, びわ) and have been cultivated for over 1,000 years. Loquats have been introduced to subtropical to temperate climate regions around the world.Eriobotrya japonica was previously thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus and is still sometimes mistakenly called Japanese wolfberry.It is also known as Japanese plum and Chinese plum as well as pipa in China, naspli in Malta, lukaat in India, lucat or loket in Sri Lanka, níspero in Spain, nêspera in Portugal, shések in Israel, akidéné, Kissi's ebirangweti, Italian nespolo (same name as Mespilus germanica) and Iranian golabi jangali (jungle pear).

Descriptions 

E.japonica is a large evergreen shrub or small tree with a rounded crown, a short trunk and downy new branches.The tree can grow to a height of 5-10 m (16-33 ft), but is usually smaller, around 3-4 m (10-13 ft).The fruit begins to ripen in spring to summer, depending on the temperature in the area.Leaves alternate, simple, 10-25 cm (4-10 inches) long, dark green, leathery, serrate-edged, densely velvety and densely yellow-brown pubescent underneath; young upper leaves Also dense, but this gets wiped off quickly.

Fruit

The loquat is unusual among fruit trees because it blooms in fall or early winter, and its fruit ripens anytime from early spring to early summer.The flowers are 2 cm (3⁄4 in) in diameter, white, with five petals, produced in rigid panicles of three to ten flowers.The flowers have a sweet, intoxicating aroma that can be smelled from afar.Clusters of loquat fruit are oval, round, or pear-shaped, 3-5 cm (1+1⁄8-2 in) long, have smooth or soft skin, and are yellow or orange, sometimes red.The juicy, tangy pulp is white, yellow, or orange, and sweet to slightly tart or acidic, depending on the variety.Each fruit contains from one to ten ovules, most commonly three to five.Several ovules mature into large brown seeds (various numbers of seeds appear in each fruit on the same tree, usually between one and four).