''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, whic ...

shrubs 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, native to warm temperate and subtropical

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

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 south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, from southern Japan, 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, 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 b ...

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'' s ...

'' (

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'' X ''Rhaphiolepis indica''. The common name hawthorn, originally specifically applied to the related genus '' Crataegus'', 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 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 ...

s with panicle 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 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 ''

'' (loquats) be merged. Research suggests the following phylogenetic relationships:

Cultivation and uses

The best known species is '' Rhaphiolepis indica'' (Indian hawthorn) from southern China, grown for its decorative pink

s, and popular in bonsai culture. '' Rhaphiolepis umbellata'' (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 ente ...

, 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 ...

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References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q137087 Rosaceae genera