Loquat, Fruit
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica syn. Mespilus japonica and Photinia japonica) is a fruit tree in genus Eriobotrya of family Rosaceae. It is native to southeastern China and is commonly known as 'pipa' in Chinese. It is often grown as an ornamental tree and for its fruits in subtropical and mild temperate regions of the world. Loquat is an evergreen small tree or large shrub growing up to 10 m tall. It has short trunk, wooly new twigs and a rounded crown. The dark green leaves are alternate, simple with serrated margin, 10-25 cm long , tough with leathery texture. The leaves are densely covered below with thick yellow-brown hairs. In autumn or early winter, loquat produces fragrant, white, five-petaled flowers, 2 cm in diameter, in a panicles of 3-10 flowers. The fruits, produced in clusters, are oval, rounded or pear-shaped, 3–5 cm long, with a smooth or downy, yellow or orange, sometimes red-blushed skin and ripen in late winter or early spring. There are five ovules in each fruit, of which one to five will mature into large brown seeds. The skin of ripe fruit can be peeled off manually. Depending on cultivar, loquat has tangy and succulent flesh is either white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid. It is high in vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium and manganese, and low in saturated fat and sodium. It has a high sugar, acid and pectin content. Loquats can be eaten fresh, served poached in light syrup and make into jam, jelly, and chutney. Loquat syrup is used in Chinese medicine for soothing the throat. The leaves, combine with other Chinese herbs, and known as pipa gao (loquat paste) acts as a demulcent and and expectorant, to soothe the digestive and respiratory systems.  Loquat Author: Oldie (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported) | ||
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