The loquat is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, a native to the cooler hill regions of south-central China.^[2][3] It is also commonly found in Japan, Korea, northern parts of the Philippines, Himachal Pradesh in India, the Pothohar Plateau in Pakistan, and hilly regions in Sri Lanka. It can also be found in southern European countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Georgia, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Spain and Portugal, several northern African countries including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and in countries in the Middle East such as Lebanon, Israel, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine.^[4] In Africa and the Americas it is found in subtropical regions and in higher elevation areas within the tropics, which includes parts of East Africa and South Africa, like Kenya, Southern Mexico, Central America and Colombia, Southern Brazil, and North American states such as California, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida^[5][6].

It is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit, and also cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Eriobotrya japonica was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar. It is also known as Japanese plum^[7] and Chinese plum,^[8] as well as pipa in China, and nespola in Italy.

Description

Eriobotrya japonica is a large evergreen shrub or small tree, with a rounded crown, short trunk and woolly new twigs. The tree can grow to 5–10 metres (16–33 ft) tall, but is often smaller, about 3–4 metres (10–13 ft). The fruit begins to ripen during spring to summer depending on the temperature in the area. The leaves are alternate, simple, 10–25 centimetres (4–10 in) long, dark green, tough and leathery in texture, with a serrated margin, and densely velvety-hairy below with thick yellow-brown pubescence; the young leaves are also densely pubescent above, but this soon rubs off.^{[9][10][11][12]}Ripe single seeded loquats

Fruit

Loquats are unusual among fruit trees in that the flowers appear in the autumn or early winter, and the fruits are ripe at any time from early spring to early summer.^[13] The flowers are 2 cm (1 in) in diameter, white, with five petals, and produced in stiff panicles of three to ten flowers. The flowers have a sweet, heady aroma that can be smelled from a distance.^{[citation needed]}

Loquat fruits, growing in clusters, are oval, rounded or pear-shaped, 3–5 centimetres (1–2 in) long, with a smooth or downy, yellow or orange, sometimes red-blushed skin. The succulent, tangy flesh is white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid, depending on the cultivar.

Each fruit contains from one to ten ovules, with three to five being most common.^[14] A variable number of the ovules mature into large brown seeds (with different numbers of seeds appearing in each fruit on the same tree, usually between one and four).

The fruits are the sweetest when soft and orange. The flavour is a mixture of peach, citrus and mild mango.

History and taxonomy

Loquats and a Mountain Bird, by an anonymous Chinese artist of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279).

The loquat is originally from China, where related species can be found growing in the wild.^{[15][16][17][18]} It was introduced into Japan and became naturalised there in very early times;^[19] it has been cultivated there for over 1,000 years. It has also become naturalised in Georgia, Armenia, Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Chile, Kenya, India, Iran, Iraq, South Africa, the whole Mediterranean Basin, Pakistan, New Zealand, Réunion, Tonga, Central America, Mexico, South America and in warmer parts of the United States (Hawaii, California, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina). In Louisiana, many refer to loquats as “misbeliefs” and they grow in yards of homes.^[20] Chinese immigrants are presumed to have carried the loquat to Hawaii and California.^[21][22] It has been cultivated in Japan for about 1,000 years and presumably the fruits and seeds were brought back from China to Japan by the many Japanese scholars visiting and studying in China during the Tang Dynasty.

The loquat was often mentioned in medieval Chinese literature, such as the poems of Li Bai. Its original name is no longer used in most Chinese dialects, and has been replaced by pipa (枇杷), which is a reference to the fruit’s visual resemblance to a miniature pipa lute.

The first European record of the species might have been in the 16th century by Michał Boym Polish jesuit, orientalist, politician and missionary to China. He described loquat in his Flora sinensis, the first European natural history book about China.^[23] The common name for the fruit is from portuguese nêspera (from the modified nespilus, originally mespilus, which referred to the medlar), (José Pedro Machado, Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa, 1967). Since the first contact of the Portuguese with the Japanese and Chinese dates also from the sixteenth century, it is possible that some were brought back to Europe, as was probably the case with other species like the hachiya persimmon variety.

Eriobotrya japonica was again described in Europe by Carl Peter Thunberg, as Mespilus japonica in 1780, and was relocated to the genus Eriobotrya (from Greek εριο “wool” and βοτρυών “cluster”) by John Lindley, who published these changes in 1821.

The most common variety in Portugal is the late ripening Tanaka, where it is popular in gardens and backyards, but not commercially produced. In northern Portugal it is also popularly called magnório/magnólio, probably something to do with the French botanist Pierre Magnol. In Spain, the fruits are similarly called “nísperos” and are commercially explored, Spain being the largest producer worldwide, after China, with 41,487t annually, half of which is destined to export markets.

Cultivation

Over 800 loquat cultivars exist in Asia. Self-fertile variants include the ‘Gold Nugget’ and ‘Mogi’ cultivars.^[5] The loquat is easy to grow in subtropical to mild temperate climates where it is often primarily grown as an ornamental plant, especially for its sweet-scented flowers, and secondarily for its delicious fruit. The boldly textured foliage adds a tropical look to gardens, contrasting well with many other plants.Loquat in flower. This is a cultivar intended for home-growing, where the flowers open gradually resulting in fruit also ripening gradually.Fruit

There are many named cultivars, with orange or white flesh.^[24] Some cultivars are intended for home-growing, where the flowers open gradually, and thus the fruit also ripens gradually, compared to the commercially grown species where the flowers open almost simultaneously, and the whole tree’s fruit also ripens together.

Japan is the leading producer of loquats followed by Israel and then Brazil.^[24] In Europe, Spain is the main producer of loquat.^[25]

In temperate climates it is grown as an ornamental with winter protection, as the fruits seldom ripen to an edible state. In the United Kingdom, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit.^[26][27]

In the US, the loquat tree is hardy only in USDA zones 8 and above, and will flower only where winter temperatures do not fall below 30 °F (−1 °C). In such areas, the tree flowers in autumn and the fruit ripens in late winter.^[5] Tt is popular in the East, as well as the South.

Culinary use

The loquat has a high sugar, acid and pectin content.^[28] It is eaten as a fresh fruit and mixes well with other fruits in fresh fruit salads or fruit cups. The fruits are also commonly used to make jam, jelly and chutney, and are often served poached in light syrup. Firm, slightly immature fruits are best for making pies or tarts.

The fruit is sometimes canned or processed into confections. The waste ratio is 30 percent or more, due to the seed size.Ripe and unripe loquats

Alcoholic beverages

Loquats can also be used to make light wine. They are fermented into a fruit wine, sometimes using just crystal sugar and white liquor.

In Italy nespolino^[29] liqueur is made from the seeds, reminiscent of nocino and amaretto, both prepared from nuts and apricot kernels. Both the loquat seeds and the apricot kernels contain cyanogenic glycosides, but the drinks are prepared from varieties that contain only small quantities (such as Mogi and Tanaka^[30]), so there is no risk of cyanide poisoning.

Nutrition

Energy	197 kJ (47 kcal)
Carbohydrates	12.14 g
Dietary fiber	1.7 g
Fat	0.2 g
Protein	0.43 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Vitamin A equiv.	10%76 μg
Thiamine (B1)	2%0.019 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	2%0.024 mg
Niacin (B3)	1%0.18 mg
Vitamin B6	8%0.1 mg
Folate (B9)	4%14 μg
Vitamin C	1%1 mg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	2%16 mg
Iron	2%0.28 mg
Magnesium	4%13 mg
Manganese	7%0.148 mg
Phosphorus	4%27 mg
Potassium	6%266 mg
Sodium	0%1 mg
Zinc	1%0.05 mg

The loquat is low in sodium and high in vitamin A, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, potassium, and manganese.^[31]

Like most related plants, the seeds (pips) and young leaves of the plant are slightly poisonous, containing small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides (including amygdalin) which release cyanide when digested, though the low concentration and bitter flavour normally prevent enough being eaten to cause harm.

Etymology

A loquat leaf, shown at a high magnification, illustrating the general appearance of the leaf and the structure of the venation

The name loquat derives from lou⁴ gwat¹, the Cantonese pronunciation of the classical Chinese: 蘆橘; pinyin: lújú, literally “black orange”. The phrase “black orange” originally actually referred to unripened kumquats, which are dark green in color. But the name was mistakenly applied to the loquat we know today by the ancient Chinese poet Su Shi when he was residing in southern China, and the mistake was widely taken up by the Cantonese region thereafter.^{[citation needed]}

In Armenian it is called “Nor Ashkhar” (նոր աշխարհ) which means New World because it ushers in Spring.^{[citation needed]}

In Turkish, it is named similarly, “Yeni Dunya” meaning New World.

Symbolism

In China, the loquat is known as the ‘pipa’ (枇杷) and because of its golden colour, represents gold and wealth. It is often one in a bowl or composite of fruits and vegetables (such as spring onions, artemisia leaves, pomegranates, kumquats, etc.) to represent auspicious wishes or the ‘Five Prosperities’ or wurui (五瑞).^[32]

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