Japan is the leading producer of loquats followed by Israel and then Brazil. A loquat is both a tree and its fruit, thought to have originated in China. May promote heart health. [21] 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). The Chinese use the loquat to make a cough syrup. [citation needed], In China, the loquat is known as the 'pipa' (枇杷) and because of its golden colour, represents gold and wealth. Flora Chin. In Florida, there are loquat trees everywhere, so getting a few leaves should be free from your friends or neighbors. It is often one in a bowl or composite of fruits and vegetables (such as spring onions, artemisia leaves, pomegranates, kumquats, etc.) Tree height is variable, ranging anywhere from 10 to 30 feet (about 3-9 m) high. ), Loquat Fruit Facts from the California Rare Fruit Growers, Purdue University Center for New Crops & Plant Products Loquat webpage, Loquat Growing in the Florida Home Landscape, from the University of Florida IFAS Extension Website, http://alienplantsbelgium.be/content/eriobotrya-japonica, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loquat&oldid=990638991, Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017, Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Taxonbars with automatically added basionyms, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Badenes M.L., Canyamas T., Llácer G., Martínez J., Romero C. & Soriano J.M. (2003), This page was last edited on 25 November 2020, at 17:26. Some find the taste slightly acidic, but the acidity is diminished if the fruit is eaten when completely ripe. At least 1,000 years ago, the Japanese began to cultivate the loquat. The loquat is in the family Rosaceae, and is native to the cooler hill regions of south-central China. [22] 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. 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. Loquats taste exotic, a cross between a passion fruit and a guava. What Are the Best Tips for Making Passion Fruit Desserts. However, it has a relatively high pectin content and can be a valuable addition to jam, jelly or chutney. Loquats taste exotic, a cross between a passion fruit and a guava. The flavour is a mixture of peach, citrus and mild mango. 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. In Italy nespolino[27] 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[28]), so there is no risk of cyanide poisoning. The Japanese name for loquat is biwa. The loquat was often mentioned in medieval Chinese literature, such as the poems of Li Bai. [4] 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. Flora Mesoamericana. The name loquat derives from lou4 gwat1, the Cantonese pronunciation of the classical Chinese: 蘆橘; pinyin: lújú, literally "black orange". The loquat is teardrop or pear shaped and generally is not larger than 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. [22] In Europe, Spain is the main producer of loquat. to represent auspicious wishes or the 'Five Prosperities' or wurui (五瑞). In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) In northern Portugal it is also popularly called magnório/magnólio, probably something to do with the French botanist Pierre Magnol. Loquats can also be used to make light wine. El cultivo del Níspero", "RHS Plant Selector Eriobotrya japonica (F) AGM / RHS Gardening", "Wolfram-Alpha: Making the world's knowledge computable", Botanical and Horticultural Information on the Loquat, Genetic diversity in european collection of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include There is a case report of a 39-year-old man who drank 2 liters of loquat extract for two weeks for cholesterol-lowering benefits. Their sweetness makes them a perfect substitute for more calorie-rich desserts. In any preparation of the loquat, the seeds should be discarded. The fruit is sometimes canned or processed into confections. Some find the taste slightly acidic, but the acidity is diminished if the fruit is eaten when completely ripe. (2014). [2][3] The loquat has been grown in Japan for over 1,000 years, and has been introduced to regions with subtropical to mild temperate climates throughout the world.[4][5]. The waste ratio is 30 percent or more, due to the seed size. 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). [18] Chinese immigrants are presumed to have carried the loquat to Hawaii and California. It was kind of funny, there are tons of these trees in the area, and most people ignore them. Self-fertile variants include the 'Gold Nugget' and 'Mogi' cultivars. The tree is an evergreen, and makes a pleasing addition to landscaping. Additionally, the loquat blooms in late fall or early winter, when there are few flowers available. The tree can grow to 5–10 metres (16–33 ft) tall, but is often smaller, about 3–4 metres (10–13 ft). Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza, 1999, s. 183. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species", "Herbs, Prayer, and Insulin Use of Medical and Alternative Treatments by a Group of Mexican American Diabetes Patients", "The germplasm resources of the genus Eriobotrya with special reference on the origin of E. japonica Lindl", "Agroalimentación. The loquat has a high sugar, acid and pectin content. working on her first novel. The fruit is often left to fall on the ground, and few recognize its delicious potential. If one is not so lucky as to live in an area where the loquat is grown, the fruit is generally available at Asian or Hispanic markets. Over 800 loquat cultivars exist in Asia. Davidse, G., M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. Loquats are also lovely in fruit salad and baked fruit desserts like cobbler. 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. Loquat tea is a popular traditional Japanese drink which they call Biwa Cha. The phrase "black orange" originally actually referred to unripened kumquats, which are dark green in color. The succulent, tangy flesh is white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid, depending on the cultivar. Tip – to make the fruit taste better, prior to eating a kumquat, try gently squeezing or rolling the fruit. [30], This article is about a species of flowering plants called Japanese medlar. The loquat — Eriobotrya japonica — is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit, its leaves for tea (known as "biwa cha" in Japan), and also cultivated as an ornamental plant. Each fruit contains from one to ten ovules, with three to five being most common. (1780). The fruits are the sweetest when soft and orange. The fruit begins to ripen during spring to summer depending on the temperature in the area. 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). I loved their fruit, which nobody ever picked, and nobody seemed to mind kids picking. [12] The flowers are 2 cm (1 in) in diameter, white, with five petals, and produced in stiff panicles of three to ten flowers. Generally, unless a loquat is well established, trees are in the shorter range. It is simple to make and has a mild and pleasant flavor to go along with its multiple health benefits and can be enjoyed either hot or cold. [14][15][16][17] It has been cultivated there for over a thousand years.