Loquat

Partial shade; appreciates some protection from western summer sun. Evergreen, with long, large leaves. Fragrant flowers and sweet, bountiful orange plums during mild winters. Loquat is low-maintenance and rarely requires much training other than cleaning up its litter. Excellent for screening, especially on the east side of a house or a live oak. With its big evergreen leaves it makes a useful and drought-hardy substitute for ligustrum and some of the smaller magnolias. It attracts bees and birds and tends to naturalize (reseed) and spread into alleyways and native areas.