Loquat
Eriobotrya japonica
An evergreen pome that flowers in fall/winter and fruits in spring. Flowers vs fruit vs frost timing is the crop. Not a kumquat.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
An evergreen pome that flowers in fall/winter and fruits in spring. Flowers vs fruit vs frost timing is the crop. Not a kumquat.
Edible portions
- fruit
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 8–10
- Light. Full sun to light shade
- Soil. Well-drained
- Planting. Small tree. Thin fruit if it sets too heavy.
- Harvest. When fully colored and slightly soft. They don’t store.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Fresh, jam
Nutrition and compounds
- Vitamins (qualitative, well-known associations). vitamin A — not milligram values.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.