Eriobotrya, Japanese Plum, Loquat 'Champagne' (Eriobotrya japonica)

Eriobotrya, Japanese Plum, Loquat 'Champagne'
Eriobotrya japonica

Eriobotrya japonica
'Champagne' (Japanese), often misidentified as 'Early Red'. Selected and introduced into cultivation in California by C. P. Taft around 1908. Elongated pear-shaped, often oblique; small to large (depending on where it is grown); skin pale-golden to deep-yellow, thick, tough, astringent; flesh white or yellow, soft, juicy, mild and subacid to sweet; of excellent flavor. There are 3 to 5 seeds. Midseason to late. Prolific; fruits borne in large clusters. Perishable; good for preserving. Tree has long, narrow, pointed leaves; is self -infertile.

Based on the photos on the website, I'm pretty sure the tree in my yard is a Japanese Plum. However, the text says there are 3-5 seeds, and the fruit from my tree has a single pit. Other research I've done shows the Japanese Plum to be a "stone fruit" and the implication is that it has a single pit. I would welcome your advice as to whether or not I'm on the right track with my identification.

This message was edited Jun 2, 2005 2:01 AM

hi TriciaAnn
welcome to Dave's Garden
how big is your tree ? did you get sweet eatable fruit from it ?
the common name for these Japanese plums is Loquat
a pict would help to id your plant

Dick

Hi Dick,

Thanks for your reply! To answer your questions: it's a good-sized tree, about 14-15 feet high. The fruit looks a lot like an apricot (similar size and shape), but doesn't have the smooth orange bottom. It's also a little more elongated than an apricot. The fruit grows in bunches of 8-12 or more per branch. I've tried tasting one, and it's very sour -- since I didn't die, it appears to be edible :).

The tree, leaves, and fruit look exactly like the photos of the Japanese Plum on Dave's website, but--like I said--there's only a single pit. That's the part that has me a bit flummoxed.



This message was edited Jun 3, 2005 11:11 PM

Tricia Ann
here is a link with some information
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html
hope this helps

Dick

Thanks! Everything matches except for the 3-5 seed thing, so I guess it can't be a loquat. I'm attaching a photo of my tree per your request. Any ideas of what it could be?

TriciaAnn
it definitely looks like a loquat
have you tasted again later into the ripening ?
& can you take a pict of the sgl seed ?
i seem to remember one of my trees had sgl seed in the early years
& i just read that the wolfe variety has 1 to 3 seed
so you may have one of the hybrids ?
cause it sure does look like a loquat
Dick

This message was edited Jun 6, 2005 11:34 PM

Hi Dick,

I'm attaching a photo of the pit. As you can see from the ruler, I'm a big fan of CSI :). I think this proves conclusively that the loquat did it (hehe).

Unfortunately, the photo quality is not that good since I'm using an older digital camera, but at least you can get the general idea. I've tried eating five more of the fruits, and they're not bad--these subsequent ones are much sweeter than the first one I tried. Also--and this may be significant--one of the five had three seeds in the middle, all crammed together. All the rest were single pits like the first one, though.

Do you think it's a hybrid loquat of some sort?



This message was edited Jun 6, 2005 11:45 PM

no question about it now, you have a loquat
which cultivar you have is anybodys guess :-)
next year you will have plenty of sweet fruit with multiple seed
BTW: not everybody thinks Loquats are sweet

Dick