Water loquat generally refers to Saurauia tristyla, a plant in the Actinidiaceae family; its fruit is sweet and sour and edible.

Water loquat is not a variety of loquat, but a folk common name for Saurauia tristyla, a plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is mainly distributed in the warm, humid mountainous areas of South China and Southwest China, and is commonly found in places with ample moisture such as beside streams and valleys and along forest edges. It got this name because its fruit looks somewhat similar to loquat and it also prefers wet habitats.

In terms of morphology, water loquat is mostly an evergreen shrub or small tree, with broad leaves and small, densely clustered flowers. Its fruit is a berry; when ripe, the flesh is sweet, sour, and juicy, and can be eaten fresh directly. In some mountainous areas, it is one of the wild fruits familiar to local people.

In terms of uses, the roots and leaves of water loquat are often collected as herbal medicine in folk practice, mostly classified as clearing heat and detoxifying and relieving cough. However, these uses belong to traditional experience, and specific use is best carried out under professional guidance; it should not be taken in large amounts on one's own.

It should also be noted that water loquat is only distantly related to ordinary loquat in the Rosaceae family; only the names are similar, while their growth habits and cultivation requirements differ greatly. When encountering it in the wild, one should first confirm the plant's identity before deciding whether to eat it, so as to avoid mistakenly picking and eating wild fruits that look similar.