Loquats are evergreen trees that produce a fruit that tastes similar to peaches and apricots. The fruit is eaten fresh and used in pies, wines, and jelly. The Loquat is a moderately sized tree with a short trunk and wide leaves that are dark green and glossy on top and silver and fuzzy underneath. Five-petaled flowers are sweetly fragrant and bloom in late fall; fruits are oval, pear-shaped or round, less than two inches in diameter, ranging from yellow to orange (sometimes blushed). They grow in clusters and mature in the winter months.
Propagation is difficult through cuttings and is most often done by seeds. Fruits contain as few as one, and in rare cases, as many as 10 dark or light brown angular seeds. The fruit’s skin is thin, and when ripe enough, can be peeled away with bare hands. The fruit has a high sugar and pectin content, similar to apples. The pips and young leaves of the Loquat tree are slightly poisonous. Cyanogenic glycocides release a low concentration of cyanide when digested.