Fans Can’t Get Enough of This Unique Springtime Fruit

Peel off the paper-thin skin and taste this fruit’s unique flavors.

Loquat fruit grows on a tree owned by Raffy Espiritu, of Milpitas, in his backyard in Milpitas, Calif., on Monday, May 5, 2025. Espiritu moved into his home around the year 2000 and he states that he inherited this wonderful tree from the previous owner. The loquat tree originated in China and grows in subtropical regions around the world. Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group

By Stephanie Lam The Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif.—On a recent warm May day, bundles of small sun-kissed-colored fruit droop from a towering tree in Raffy Espiritu’s backyard in Milpitas. They soak in the light and ripen in the heat before suddenly splitting from the branches at the slightest tug of Espiritu’s hand.