Eriobotrya japonica - Loquat, biwa cha (Japan), pipa, nespolo

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

Eriobotrya japonica has been called Loquat, or Japanese plum and Japanese medlar. To the Italians, it is nespola giapponese; to French-speaking people, it is néflier du Japon, or bibassier. In the German language, it is japanische mispel, or wollmispel; in Spanish, nispero, nispero japonés, or nispero del Japón; in Portuguese, ameixa amarella, or ameixa do Japao.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is a subtropical evergreen fruit tree originating in southeastern China. It has been cultivated for more than 2000 years. 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 western world first learned of it from the botanist Kaempfer in 1690. Thunberg, who saw it in Japan in 1712, provided a more elaborate description. It was planted in the National Gardens, Paris, in 1784 and plants were taken from Canton, China, to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, England, in 1787. Soon, the tree was grown on the Riviera and in Malta and French North Africa (Algeria) and the Near East and fruits were appearing on local markets. In 1818, excellent fruits were being produced in hothouses in England. The tree can be grown outdoors in the warmest locations of southern England.

Loquat is now commercially cultivated in more than 30 countries worldwide, including Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, India, Pakistan, Israel, and Italy. China is now the largest producer of loquat fruit with a cultivation area of about 170,000 ha and an annual output of about one million tons.

Loquat is a plant with high medicinal value and different organs that have been used historically as folk medicines for thousands of years. Loquat extracts have been used for the treatment of cough, chronic bronchitis (CB), inflammation, diabetes, and cancer in Chinese folk medicine. Ancient literature, such as the ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’, described the origin, classification, breeding methods, and medicinal value of the loquat tree, and laid the foundation for the development and cultivation of loquat.

Loquat, is famous for its delicious yellow / apricot / salmon colored fruit. Although the tree will grow relatively well in shorter daylight hours of the tropical, it is most suited in a mediterranean or warm temperate region where it will set fruit more readily and mature larger crops.

The Loquat tree is notable for its balanced, compact structure and thick, deep green and deeply veined evergreen leaves. The fruit can vary significantly in size and quality. The images here depict a selected variety of Loquat fruit of medium to large size with a single seed. In North America it is more common for people to plant the tree as an ornamental, with little knowledge or regard for the fruit, thus seedling trees are planted with small inferior quality fruit with a higher seed / flesh ratio.

CULTURE

Loquat grows rapidly and needs frequent pruning to keep it manageable and facilitate harvesting. The tree has a shallow root system and may require irrigation at lower elevations. Trees at the 12 Trees Project site, at 430-foot elevation, are given 15 minutes of water daily with a 1/2-gallon per hour emitter.  The tree is a heavy feeder and requirements for fertilizer vary greatly depending on location. Generally, in Hawaii, a 1/2 pound of 6-6-6- fertilizer applied evenly spaced 4 times per year to mature trees will ensure good fruit growth.  Loquat can be pruned as an espalier or kept low to the ground. Multiple branches on new growth are removed leaving only the top and bottom branches.

In Asia, a number of techniques are used to produce large fruit with high quality. As flowers develop, they should be thinned to 3 bottom stalks (racemes). Depending on the variety, only 3 to 5 fruit are left on each panicle. The fruit should be covered to protect it from fruit fly and to slow coloration. Double bags used in Japan reduce light from reaching the fruit for 80% of fruit development. When that is reached, the outer bag is removed; leaving the inner bag that permits 60% of the light to reach the fruit. Most loquats turn from green to yellow to light orange when ripe.

NUTRITION

Loquat fruits are high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin a, vitamin c, potassium, and other beneficial minerals. Loquat leaf likewise has a range of health benefits, including blood sugar regulation and anti-inflammatory effects. Another variety of loquat is the Bronze Loquat (E. deflect); this tree produces smaller, darker colored fruit in fall, and is also edible.

HARDINESS

For fruit production Loquats are best planted in Mediterranean, warm temperate and subtropical climates. Although Loquat trees can survive in temperatures down to about 10 degrees F, fruit will likely not survive if flowers are exposed to temperatures falling below 28 degrees F. A relatively short, mild winter is preferable.

Loquat Tea Recipe

“Japanese use loquat leaves as a traditional cure for preventing and treating respiratory ailments.

Loquat leaves also contain compounds demonstrated to lower blood's lipid and sugar levels and alleviate inflammatory skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis (eczema.)

Loquat leaves are listed for their health benefits in Japanese Pharmacopoeia (Nippon Yakkyoku-hō,) the official record of approved medicinal herbs, published by the Government of Japan since 1886.” Wawaza.com

Links:

Biological Activities of Extracts from Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.): A Review

Purdue Horticulture - Loquat

Hawaii Fruit - Loquat

This is the most informative video I’ve found on loquats:

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Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry

Malus toringoides - Cut-leaf Crabapple

 Malus toringoides is endemic to mountain ranges of China, located within Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Sichuan Provinces. The tree is an attractive, flowering wild apple which has been used as a rootstock for apple grafting and breeding.

Trifoliate Orange - Poncirus trifoliata

Native to China and Korea, this is the most cold hardy

Trifoliate orange and various hybrids of this plant are widely used as citrus rootstocks. The plant is a fairly cold-hardy citrus (USDA zone 6) and will tolerate moderate frost and snow, making a large shrub or small tree 4–8 m tall. Because of its relative hardiness, citrus grafted onto Citrus trifoliata are usually hardier than when grown on their own roots.

Recent studies have revealed that the trifoliate orange contains aurapten at a high concentration, which is one of the functional components having immunity against citrus tristeza virus (CTV).

he fruits are very bitter, due in part to their poncirin content. Most people consider them inedible fresh, but they can be made into marmalade. When dried and powdered, they can be used as a condiment.

The fruits of the trifoliate orange are widely used in medical traditions of East Asia as a treatment for allergic inflammation.

Rosa roxburgii x gigantea - Cili fruit

Rosa roxburghii (Burr Rose or Chestnut Rose) is a species of rose originating in southwest China. It grows up to 5m high, with twisted stems and peeling grey-brown bark and large attractive flowers.

The flavor of cili fruit can be described as an astringent yet smooth, sweet and sour taste. The fruit extract is widely used as a natural medicine and wellness juice in parts of Asia. The ripe fruit is typically yellow, as depicted below, but some varieties remain greenish even when ripe.

The fruit is highly regarded for its medicinal and health benefits. The fruit is rich in ascorbic acid and vitamin E. Cili fruit extract contains high Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity, a strong antioxidant. Rosa roxburghii has been shown to have beneficial properties for NK cell activity, microcirculation, cognitive function, plasma antioxidant capacity, stress tolerance and immune function.

The seed of cili fruit is a good source of Vitamin E and can be ground into a powder and mixed with flour or added to other foods as a supplement. The natural fruit contains 2585mg of Vitamin C per 100g fruit, which is 1.5 times higher than Acerola, or 60 times more than orange.

The Amino Acids essential to the body in cili fruit extract inlcude: Aspargine, Serine, Valine, Histidine, Arginine, Tryptophane, Methionine, Methylamino, Glutamine, Proline, Glycine, Alanine, Tyrocine, Cystine,etc. Other trace elements include Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Magnesium Potassium and Natrium.

The shrub is fast growing from seed. A year old plant will be a two foot multi-stemmed shrub. I’m waiting to see how long they take to fruit from seed.

Genetic diversity among Burbank Sorbus domestica seedlings. -Fall 2019.

Some of the diversity among the seedling Sorbus domestica selections found at Luther Burbank’s former experimental farm. Even in Europe it is rare to find Sorbus domestica fruit this large.

An unusual variety of Sorbus domestica.

This is an interesting semi-pyriform Sorbus domestica variety from one of Lurther Burbank’s seedlings growing at Burbank’s former experimental farm in Sebastopol, CA. The second photo on the top row compares this still green semi-pyriform variety with a more typical fruit form, almost ripe.

Pseudocydonia sinensis - Chinese quince

I first encountered this spectacular quince species at the Burbank Experimental Earm in Sebastopol, California. Notable for its massive fruit, which is at first a light green then turning yellow as it ripens. Among the apples, Sorbus domestic, and a number of other surviving Burbank species this one seems to be growing strong and quite productive.

The tree is a deciduous, semi-evergreen tree in the Rosaceae family (Rose, Pear, Apple, Loquat). Native to Eastern Asia in China this is the sole species in the Pseudocydonia genus. Previously Pseudocydonia was placed in the Asian genus Chaenomeles, however differs in that Pseudocydonia lacks thorns and produces single flowers. The Chinese Quince is closely related to the European Quince, Cydonia bologna. The two species differ in that Chinese quince has somewhat serrated leaves and smooth fruited skin. The fruit on the Burbank Hybrids also appear to grow larger.

The tree is referred to as mùguā-hǎitáng (木瓜海棠).In Chinese, mùguā (木瓜) also means, “papaya”.

Grows 8-10 m long. The fruit is a large ovoid pome 12–17 cm long with five carpels; it gives off an intense, sweet smell and it ripens in late autumn.

The large fruit is hard and astringent, however after a period of frost the fruit does become a bit softer and less astringent. The fruit can be used in the same way as quince, poached, baked or used for making jam. The tree is also grown as an ornamental in Southern Europe.

In Korea it is used to make a preserved quince and quince tea.

The bark and trunk of larger trees are highly ornamental. The wood is frequently used in Japan for shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian.

The fruit is used extensively in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Recent pharmacological studies suggest that extracts of phytochemical in the fruit have antioxidant and antiviral properties.