Talk:Loquat

Diabetes

I've met two or three people when I lived in Texas who attributed their cured diabetes to making tea from their backyard loquat tree. I'd like to see this discussed and/or mentioned on this page. I trust the wikipedia... and now have diabetes I want to cure... :) I remember specifically that they were Type I diabetics, and that's what I considered impossible up 'til that time. Anyway, someone check out http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=loquat+diabetes and report back. Mrcolj 22:13, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

The only reasonable source I could find in a very quick search was this. Adding either loquat leaf extract or mulberry leaf powder to some pulverized tube from caiapo (Ipomoea batatas L. -- I think that's sweet potatoes, though it's an odd name for them) sped up the already reported effects of caiapo on blood glucose concentration by 1-2 weeks in type II diabetics. This search also brings up 3 old results from 1988 and 1991. Doesn't seem to be much out there, but loquat extract has clearly been tested a few times and hasn't seemed to cure diabetes. digfarenough (talk) 23:17, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Loquat Fruit Facts

Passages from this article are quoted, with permission, from the Loquat Fruit Facts document on the web site of the California Rare Fruit Growers.

Can you make clear which paragraphs are quoted from there please. Perhaps by putting them inside <blockquote> tags. Angela. 14:, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

Well, most of them, actually. I added bits here and there, such as which countries grow loquats, and the fact that they ripen in spring, but I'll openly admit much of the article is quoted verbatim from their document. I rearranged the sentences and cut out a lot of specialized information, such as planting and harvesting tips and descriptions of the different commercial variants (that are frankly pretty hard for the untrained eye and palate to distinguish). I'll try to think of more stuff to add, but honestly, I don't know that there's a whole lot to say about loquats, except that they're yummy and vastly underrated and should be peeled before eating. Maybe I'll say that. Anyway, the guy at CRFG with whom I corresponded, and who was very nice about this and wrote that "We take pride in our Fruit Facts documents", was named Bill Grimes. I first emailed him informally and then sent additional information using a boilerplate letter I found here, with links to GNU and all that.

Thanks for responding to my request for peer review, here and on other pages!--Woggly 15:13, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

No problem. If they are happy to release it under the GFDL, that should be fine. Angela. 21:51, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

Maturity/ripeness of loquat fruits

As in the image, can yellow loquats be said to be truly ripe and mature? I've usually found them to be sour if eaten while yellow; they'd be ripe when they've turned more orangey-peach, as seen here. Mang 02:19, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

In any case, the ones in the picture you posted are round rather than the oblong pear-like shape pictured in the article! I've had ones which are both pale yellow and orange (the same color as the skin) *inside*, and they taste drastically different. Both were orange outside and round, so it's perfecly possible that those oblong ones pictured are yellow-skinned when mature as the article mentions. I noticed that the caption now reads "approaching maturity" rather than mature, and I have no idea which is correct. EDIT: And here's another type which looks considerably different, with a skin that seems to be shiny rather than soft. [1] 76.202.58.168 04:45, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

I have a tree in my yard. The loquats from it are not ripe until they are orange, and even then they're often unripe. The main way I judge if they're ripe is by how easily they come off of the tree; if a light tug doesn't get them off, I leave them to ripen more. The color is at best an approximate indicator of which ones to check. They're ripe and sweetest when they turn soft, but still plenty ripe before then and usually overripe soon after, so waiting until they're soft will lose a lot of them. The tree has both pear-shaped and round fruit on it at the same time, as well as both soft and shiny skins. There seems to be no difference inside. The fuzzy skins turn shiny if I wash them; perhaps I'm scrubbing the hairs off. TheManxome (talk) 22:15, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Link(s) to Kumquat, etc.

Since Kumquats and Loquats are not at all related, I've added an explanation (in the See Also section) of why there's a link to the Kumquat page. Since the same explanation applies to Limequats and Orangequats (and since the Kumquat page links to them), I have removed the latter two links from this page. For more of the rationale, see the Link to Loquat section on the Kumquat discussion page. Carol the Dabbler 19:57, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

"Smooshy"?

And I quote: "The fruits are the sweetest when smooshy and yellow." Am I correct in assuming "smooshy" is a technical term? :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bwanderson (talk • contribs) 23:31, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Etymology

Croatian name for loquat is japanska mušmula. In Adriatic region loquat is also called nešpula, nešpola, nješpula or nješpola. Mušmula is Croatian name for Medlar.

83.139.65.122 (talk) 15:47, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

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I'm trying to find a way to participate in the dialogue about Loquats. I grew up in Miami, southend, Coconut Grove/Coral Gables area where loquat trees were fairly common; in fact, there is a street in Coconut Grove named, Loquat. We had a nice tree in my yard which produced good fruit, with no cultivation efforts on our part. After perusing the information here, I found no reference to loquats being found in SE Florida. As I suppose you know, due to our southernmost location in North America, and our proximity to the Gulfstream Current--I think the Gulfstream passes nearest North America here--I grew up in a subtropical paradise, and part of my childhood memories include afternoons of gorging on sticky-sweet loquats. We buy pineapples at the market and stick the tops in the ground, and grow edible, albeit small, pineapples. My dad grew five varieties of mango in the yard, so we had ripe fruit from May to September. It's common to see many species of parrots, mynahs (lately they gather in parking lots and eat the bugs off the cars' undercarriage and grillwork) Birdwatchers come down and add dozens of species to their lifelists, found only here. A fine example is the Red-whiskered Bulbill. Down south, where the old Parrot Jungle tourist attraction used to be, one can encounter several species of Macaws as well (escapees that now flourish in local neighborhoods). Well, I rambled a bit...I was to underscore our unique climate, which allows us to enjoy so much exotic flora and fauna, inlcluding the loquat. Lately, we are being overrun with huge Iquanas! My point (yes, what was my point? LOL)was to make sure that SE Florida be included in any reference to Loquats. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.176.44.223 (talk) 04:07, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Nutritional Value

AFAIK there's no Cholesterol in plants, so it can't be low. There's also no Saturated Fat in loquat at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.8.49.225 (talk) 10:30, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

The loquat is so low in saturated fat (only .04 g per 100 g of fruit -- USDA NDB No: 09174) that it can be labeled as not having any. As stated above, it is cholesterol free. It may be best to say "The fruit contains dietetically insignificant amounts of fat and sodium". Furthermore, the weight loss claim is unsupported. All fruits have fiber that increases satiety and, therefore, decreases intake. Unless it can be substantiated, I would rather it state "The loquat's nutritional content allows it to fit well into a healthy lifestyle." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vanmankline (talk • contribs) 13:34, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Non-English names?

Once upon a time, this article included the Japanese (biwa) and Mandarin Chinese (枇杷 pei pa) names of the tree/fruit. I for one only know the fruit as biwa and not as Japanese medlar. Should this information be re-added to the article, or am I the only one that would help? Cnilep (talk) 05:53, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Names in other languages are handled by the interwiki and by wiktionary, so that huge lists don't build up on all wikipedia pages. Does this enable you to find what you would want to see? Nadiatalent (talk) 18:09, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

It might do. I guess what I'm wondering is whether biwa is a common name for the fruit among English speakers, or is that just me? I notice that a search of Google Images in English shows (among 20 pictures of lutes) two pictures of loquat fruit, plus suggested searches for "biwa lake, biwa fruit, biwa pearl". But as you suggest, there may be just as many people who call the fruit "Wollmispel" or "níspero" or what have you, resulting in an unwieldy list. Cnilep (talk) 07:43, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

The list deleted with this edit was previously quite long and rambling, not good authoritative materlal. It did include biwa. Nadiatalent (talk) 12:11, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

It is my belief, without having heard from all English speakers (of course) that Japanese medlar is not very common, but it is called just Medlar quite a bit (but that's a much more common name for another fruit). Nadiatalent (talk) 12:13, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

In Spain it is grown widely and is known as the nispero sometimes spelled nespero. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.151.255.61 (talk) 07:40, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Pronunciaton

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it with the TRAP vowel as indicated in the IPA. PALM is the vowel I would use. 121a0012 (talk) 04:23, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

As per above commented, I corrected the IPA pronunciation to /ˈloʊkwɒt/). 62.203.213.132 (talk) 10:44, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

I was just reading about different Australian pronunciations for this, either /ˈloʊkət/, /ˈloʊkwɒt/ or /ˈloʊkwət/ and came here to check how much variation there is in pronunciation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Australian_English

References

Ref 7 and Ref 8 point to the same page. Loquat factsheet 1997 California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. 62.203.213.132 (talk) 10:40, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

I have changed it to a named reference. William Avery (talk) 11:08, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. That's great. 62.203.213.132 (talk) 13 May 2012 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.77.201.181 (talk) 21:58, 13 May 2012 (UTC)

Acid?

Under section Culinary Use: "The loquat has a high sugar, acid, and pectin content." Under section Alcoholic Beverages: "Lemon or lemon zest is often paired with the wine because the fruit has very low acidity." Which is it? Johna (talk) 23:10, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Should fix.

The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to south-central China.[2] It is a large evergreen shrub or small tree, grown commercially for its yellow fruit, and also cultivated as an ornamental plant. It 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[3] and Chinese plum.[4] In Japan it is called biwa.[5] And in China, it is called Lo Guat (芦橘) in Cantonese and pipa (枇杷) in Mandarin.

Thus says the introduction. However, the last two sentences do not ring quite correctly in my head. To fix, someone should join the two sentences (by taking out the period and the 'and'), and clarify whether Lo Guat is Chinese or Cantonese, and what "Loquat" is in the other.

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.97.197.191 (talk) 04:21, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

I am a Hong-Kong-born Chinese. This fruit should be called 枇杷 no matter you speak Mandarin or Cantonese. Loquat is the English translation of the old Chinese name 芦橘 (simplified Chinese) or 蘆橘 (traditional Chinese) which nobody knows in Hong Kong.

This is the wiki in Chinese: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9E%87%E6%9D%B7

--199.16.116.254 (talk) 18:42, 15 May 2014 (UTC)