Loquat

Trees small, to 10 m tall. Branchlets yellowish brown, densely rusty or grayish rusty tomentose. Stipule subulate, 1–1.5 cm, pubescent, apex acuminate; petiole nearly absent or short, 6–10 mm, grayish brown tomentose; leaf blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate, or elliptic-oblong, 12–30 × 3–9 cm, leathery, lateral veins 11 or 12 pairs, abaxially densely gray rusty tomentose, adaxially lustrous, rugose, base cuneate, margin entire basally, remotely serrate apically, apex acute or acuminate. Panicle 10–19 cm, many flowered; peduncle densely rusty tomentose; bracts subulate, 2–5 mm, densely rusty tomentose. Pedicel 2–8 mm, rusty tomentose. Flowers fragrant, 1.2–2 cm in diam. Hypanthium shallowly cupular, abaxially rusty tomentose. Sepals triangular-ovate, 2–3 mm, abaxially densely rusty tomentose, apex obtuse. Petals white, oblong or ovate, 5–9 × 4–6 mm, apex obtuse or emarginate. Stamens 20. Ovary rusty pubescent apically, 5-loculed, with 2 ovules per locule; styles 5, free. Pome yellow or orangish yellow, globose or obovate, 1–1.5 cm in diam., rusty tomentose, soon glabrescent; fruiting pedicel 3–8 mm, initially rusty tomentose, glabrescent. Fl. Jun, fr. Jul–Aug. 2n = 34*.

China, Japan; cultivated in villages of Nepal, and also in N. India, America & Europe.

Native in Chongqing (Nanchuan Xian), Hubei (Yichang); cultivated in Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [cultivated throughout SE Asia].

Mespilus japonica Thunberg, Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsal. 3: 208. 1780; Crataegus bibas Loureiro.