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''Rhaphiolepis'' ( or ;The first pronunciation is that expected for
Anglo-Latin Anglo-Latin literature is literature from Britain originally written in Latin. It includes literature written in Latin from parts of Britain which were not in England or English-speaking: "Anglo-" is used here as a prefix meaning British rather tha ...
; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607. However,
William T. Stearn William Thomas Stearn (16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001) was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated, and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was at a ...
in his book ''Botanical Latin'' says "Botanical Latin is essentially a written language, but the scientific names of plants often occur in speech. How they are pronounced really matters little provided they sound pleasant and are understood..."
) is a genus of about fifteen species of
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and small
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the family
Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...
, native to warm temperate and subtropical
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, from southern
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, southern
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and southern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, south to
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. In searching literature it is well to remember that the name commonly is misspelt "Raphiolepsis". The genus is closely related to ''
Eriobotrya ''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'' sp ...
'' (
loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family R ...
s), so closely in fact, that members of the two genera have hybridised with each other; for example the "Coppertone loquat" is a hybrid of ''
Eriobotrya deflexa The bronze loquat (''Eriobotrya deflexa'') is a tree native to Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and South Vietnam. Coppertone loquat The Coppertone loquat (''Eriobotrya'' 'Coppertone') is a hybrid of ''Eriobotrya deflexa'' and Indian hawthorn (''Rhap ...
'' X ''Rhaphiolepis indica''. The common name hawthorn, originally specifically applied to the related genus ''
Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...
'', now also appears in the common names for some ''Rhaphiolepis'' species. For example, ''Rhaphiolepis indica'' often is called "Indian hawthorn", and ''Rhaphiolepis umbellata'', "Yeddo hawthorn".


Description

The species vary in size, some only reaching , while ''R. ferruginea'' can reach . The
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are alternate, leathery, glossy dark green, simple, long, with an entire or serrated margin. The
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are white or pink, diameter, produced in small to large
corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...
s with
panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
structure. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is a small
pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...
diameter, ripening dark purple to black, usually containing only a single
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
.


Taxonomy

''Rhaphiolepis'' is closely related to loquats and toyon and is in the apple subtribe along with many other commercially important fruit like pears. Recent phylogenetic research has suggested ''Rhaphiolepis'' and ''
Eriobotrya ''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'' sp ...
'' (loquats) be merged. Research suggests the following phylogenetic relationships:


Cultivation and uses

The best known species is ''
Rhaphiolepis indica ''Rhaphiolepis'' ( or ;The first pronunciation is that expected for Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607. However, William T. Stearn in his book ''Botanical Latin'' says "Botanical Latin ...
'' (Indian hawthorn) from southern China, grown for its decorative pink
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s, and popular in
bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
culture. ''
Rhaphiolepis umbellata ''Rhaphiolepis umbellata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Growing to tall and wide, it is an evergreen shrub with glossy oval leaves, and scented white flowers, sometimes tinged wit ...
'' (Yeddo hawthorn) from Japan and Korea has blunter leaves and white flowers. It is the hardiest species, tolerating temperatures down to about . The fruit of some varieties is edible when cooked, and can be used to make
jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...
, but some ornamental varieties bear fruit that is of no culinary value. Indian Hawthorn is a mainstay horticultural specimen in southern United States. It is often found in commercial as well as in private landscapes. Often it is trimmed into small compact hedges or balls for foundation plants. It has been successfully pruned into a standard form as well as small dwarf-like trees up to in height. The use of ''Rhaphiolepis'' in landscapes in humid regions is limited by the susceptibility of many of its species and hybrids to a disfiguring
leaf spot A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions ...
disease caused by fungi in the genus ''Entomosporium''.


Gallery

File:SoCalIndianHawthorn.jpg, Thirty-year-old Indian hawthorn that has been pruned into a multi-trunked dwarf-like tree File:Rhaphiolepis indica fruits.jpg, Indian hawthorn fruits File:Yeddo-Hawthorn at Brooklyn Botanic Garden Picture 1483.jpg, Yeddo-Hawthorn tree at
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1910 using land from Mount Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, adjacent to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden holds ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...


References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q137087 Rosaceae genera