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From China. Though this loquat produces edible fruit, it’s most often used as an ornamental. Grows 15 to 30 ft. tall; spreads as wide as it is high in sun, grows narrower in shade. Leathery, crisp, stoutly veined and netted leaves are 6 to 12 in. long, 2 to 4 in. wide, deep glossy green above, woolly and rust colored beneath. New branches are woolly. Small dull white flowers, fragrant but not showy, appear in woolly 3 to 6-in. clusters in fall. Orange to yellow, 1- to 2-in.-long fruit with large seeds in the center ripen in winter or spring. Flesh may be sweet, sweet-tart, or tart, depending on tree and variety. Eat fresh or use in preserves, pies.