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Japanese plum, loquat, pipa

loquat

Habit Shrubs or trees, 40–100[–200] dm.
Stems

bark ± smooth.

ca. 1, erect;

bark gray-brown; short shoots absent; unarmed; hairy.

Leaves

petiole 6–10 mm;

blade margins dentate in distal 1/2, lateral veins 15–25 per side, apex acute.

persistent, cauline, simple;

stipules deciduous or ± persistent, free, linear, small, margins entire;

petiole present;

blade ± elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 2–40 cm, leathery, margins flat, dentate, venation pinnate (craspedodromous), abaxial surface tomentose, adaxial glabrous [hairy].

Inflorescences

branches stiff, densely rufous-tomentose, with 1–3 barely reduced leaflike bracts, flowers ± sessile;

bracteoles deciduous, narrowly triangular, margins entire, rufous-tomentose.

terminal, 20–40-flowered, panicles, usually ± tomentose;

bracts present at proximal nodes, leafy;

bracteoles present.

Pedicels

present, short, or nearly absent.

Flowers

sepals 3 × 3 mm;

petals ± spreading, often notched, 8–10 mm.

perianth and androecium epigynous, 15–20 mm diam.;

hypanthium urceolate, 3–4 mm, usually tomentose;

sepals 5, suberect, triangular;

petals 5, white, obovate to ± oblong;

stamens [10–15]20, shorter than petals;

carpels (2–)5, connate, basally adnate to hypanthium, indumentum not recorded, styles (2–)5, terminal, proximally connate;

ovules 2.

Fruits

pomes, soft apricot yellow [yellow to reddish or blackish], ellipsoid to subglobose, [10–]20–30 mm diam., softly short-hairy;

hypanthium persistent;

sepals usually persistent, covering hypanthial opening or reflexed;

carpel walls thin;

styles not persistent.

Pomes

flesh sweet.

Seeds

3–5, black, ovoid, shiny.

1–5 per fruit.

x

= 17.

2n

= 34.

Eriobotrya japonica

Eriobotrya

Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Redwood forests, suburban and urban woodlots
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; FL; GA; LA; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Europe, n, s Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
s Asia; se Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Europe, n, s Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Naturalized plants of Eriobotrya japonica are only sporadically found in North America. The species is apparently native to east-central China (Gu C. and S. A. Spongberg 2003c), but it has long been cultivated and is now spontaneous in a much larger Asian area. The species is cultivated widely for its fruit in warm temperate and subtropical regions.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species ca. 30 (1 in the flora).

Eriobotrya is distinctive in Maleae; among other attributes it contains the largest plants in the subfamily with forest trees to 20 m and has pomes that do not have cores but have large seeds (J. R. Rohrer et al. 1991). Important regional revisions are by J. E. Vidal (1965) and Gu C. and S. A. Spongberg (2003c). The closest relation is Rhaphiolepis Lindley (D. Potter et al. 2007), in conformity with morphologic evidence. Eriobotrya japonica provides a delectable fruit. In addition to this species cultivated and escaped in the southern United States, E. deflexa (Hemsley) Nakai may be encountered in arboreta in the same area.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 432. FNA vol. 9, p. 432. Author: James B. Phipps.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Eriobotrya Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae
Subordinate taxa
E. japonica
Synonyms Mespilus japonica
Name authority (Thunberg) Lindley: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 102. (1821) Lindley: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 96, 102. (1821)
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