Plant · P-379

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica

Loquat is an evergreen tree that flowers in autumn and ripens its sweet-acid fruit in late winter to spring, out of step with every other fruit tree in the orchard. That timing is also its weak point - the wood survives hard cold, but the open flowers and swelling fruit are killed well before that, so a cold snap can take the whole crop while the tree itself is fine. The leathery leaf is brewed as a cough remedy year-round, and the fruit is eaten raw or cooked into pies, sauces and jelly. Birds spread the seed readily, so volunteer seedlings show up wherever fruit falls.