Species

Eriobotrya japonica

Etymology

Eriobotrya: From the Greek erion 'wool' and botrys 'a bunch of grapes', in reference to the downy flower clusters.
japonica: of Japan

Common Name(s)

loquat

Family

Rosaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

ERIJAP

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial.

Features

Tree up to 8m high when mature; trunk well developed; primary stems erect; secondary stems spreading; young stems stout, white-tomentose; older stems with prominent leaf scars, becoming greyish-brown and transversely calloused. Leaves near branch tips; petiole about 15mm long, stout; blade oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 150~350 x 75~100mm, acute, tapering to cuneate or slightly auriculate base, very coriaceous, generally rugose, dark green and glossy above, thinly grey- or brown- tomentose below (very young leaves completely brown-tomentose), serrate at least in upper half; stipules long-triangular, generally attenuate, pilose. Infl. of many flowers; pedicels 5~8mm long, brownish tomentose. Sepals fused for most of length; lobes 2~4mm long, brown-tomentose. Petals white or ivory, oblong, around 7~8 x 3~4mm, shallowly emarginate. Fruit pyriform to broadly ellipsoid-oblong or subglobose, up to 50 x 35mm; skin yellow, around tomentose; flesh sweet. (- Webb et.al., 1988)

Similar Taxa

Tree up to 8m high, leaves near branch tips. stout leaes, oval and up to 400 mm long, crinkled and dark, glossy green above with a thin grey to brown mat of soft hairs below. Flowers April-August-November. Edible fruits 50x 35 mm, hairy, yellow, drop-oval shaped, October-December.

Flowering

April, May June, July, August, September, October, November.

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

October-December.

Year Naturalised

1982

Origin

China, Japan

Reason for Introduction

Agricultural

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Perennial. Loquat is known to be eaten by pigeons and may be spread into light forest by this vector.

This page last updated on 5 Sep 2013