Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
Description
The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) (from Taishanese Chinese: 盧橘; Jyutping: lou4gwat1, nowadays called Chinese: 枇杷; pinyin: pípá; Jyutping: pei paa) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, a native to the cooler hill regions of China to south-central China. It is also quite common in Japan, Korea, hilly Regions of India (Himachal), Potohar and foothill regions of Pakistan and some can be found in some Northern part of the Philippines, and hill country in Sri Lanka.[citation needed] It can also be found in some southern European countries such as Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Spain and Portugal; and several Middle Eastern countries like Israel, Lebanon and Turkey. It is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its yellow fruit, and also cultivated as an ornamental plant. Eriobotrya japonica was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar. It is also known as Japanese plum and Chinese plum, also known as pipa in China. Eriobotrya is a genus of flowering plants, mostly large evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae, native to woodland in the Himalayas and East Asia. The loquat, E. japonica, is grown for its edible fruit. Eriobotrya species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Hypercompe hambletoni.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Rosales
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Family: Rosaceae
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Genus: Eriobotrya
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