Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica (species), “Japanese Medlar”, “Chinese Plum”, “Japanese Plum”

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The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves for tea originated from China and imported to Japan during Tang dynasty at early medieval ages (known as "biwa cha" in Japan), and also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family Rosaceae, and is native to the cooler hill regions of south-central China. 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.Eriobotrya japonica was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes mistakenly known as the Japanese medlar. It is also known as Japanese plum and Chinese plum, as well as pipa in China, naspli in…