We have two mature loquat trees at our house( along with fintupplety zillion seedlings).
Loquats, members of the rosaceae family, were originally natives of China. They've been in cultivation for over a thousand years in Japan and have naturalized worldwide, especially in more temperate zones.
There are reportedly varieties hybridized for home cultivation featuring flowers that open serially, meaning the resulting fruit ripens a few at a time, but our trees most certainly do not do that. The loquat trees we have flower in abundance with the fruit that follows all ripening within the span of a few days.
Loquats are tasty enough, a bit like apricots, but with multiple large inedible seed present in each fruit they are labor intense to process for jam or other uses. I've gone to the trouble a few times, but the stained fingers along with the potential for fruit flies developing on the mass of ripening loquats it takes to make even a small batch of jam, means most years the fruit is left for wildlife to enjoy. Squirrels, birds, they all show up to get their share.
Surprisingly to me, even the butterflies line up for loquats.
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| Polygonia interrogationis/Question Mark Butterfly (note the tiny white punctuation mid-wing) sipping away. |
The loquat fruit that ripens and falls naturally to the ground, in combination with the many (many!) more that are partially eaten and then discarded by tree top diners, serve as a reliable draw for both
Red Admiral and
Question Mark butterflies.
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| Three to a loquat, no waiting. |
Every year as the fruit on the ground reaches critical mass butterflies begin to arrive for an easy feast. The Hub labors tirelessly to keep the walkway clear, but after a few days the sugary juices accumulate and dry in and on every nook and cranny, making the entire area attractive for puddling.
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| This Question Mark wasn't budging, no matter how close I came. |
According to some sources eating the fruit in quantity results in a mildly sedative effect. I cannot say how that works in the nervous system of a butterfly, but I have noted behaviors that indicate
something is going on after they've spent enough time siphoning up the juices.
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| Red Admiral on the half shell.. |
After nectaring, flight apparently becomes optional, with many butterflies simply walking from fruit to fruit, stopping occasionally to fan their wings. As we walk under those trees, some butterflies will still take flight, but they launch only at the last moment, fly to a height of a few feet, and then promptly land again to continue feeding.
Clearly suffering from a lack of good judgement, this Red Admiral decided I looked like quite a reasonable post-juice perch.
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| OK mister I'm cutting you off. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! |
I have a real love-hate relationship with these loquats. The trees are evergreen, with fragrant small flowers pollinators love in late winter, and lovely large leaves that provide significant shade during the hottest part of the year. As non-natives go, loquats provide all sorts of benefits to the local wildlife and don't seem subject to any threats other than bad weather. The tops of both trees are currently hail pocked but that hasn't slowed them down in the least.
On the down side, loquat seed has a very high germination rate. Local squirrels have spit-planted seedlings all along every frequently traveled fence top or tree branch. In addition, we get a thriving mini-forest of loquat babies sprouting annually immediately underneath and around both parent trees. The seedlings uproot easily at first, which means I tend to ignore them until they are taller and harder to dislodge.
This little plot of shame in particular has loquat seedlings ranging in age from one to four years old. I know... I'm embarrassed for me, too.
I try to imagine, if I had it all to do again, whether or not I'd choose to plant loquats. While I'm standing outside enjoying the cast shade and surrounded by butterflies, I think I would. When faced with aprés-fruit cleanup and/or seedling clearing, I'm not nearly so certain. That said, if after reading this anybody out there is interested in a free loquat seedling (or eight), boy oh boy, have I got you covered.
