Japanese Apricot
Prunus mume · Rosaceae · 매실나무
How to spot it
Glossy green twigs, fragrant flowers that open before the leaves, and fuzzy fruit.
(original photo, new tab)Leaf · Photo Eric Polk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Look
- Leaves
- Alternate, egg-shaped simple leaves with sharp teeth along the margin.
- Flowers
- Fragrant flowers open singly or in pairs on leafless branches. Petals are basically five, but flower color and doubleness vary by cultivar.
- Fruit
- A round drupe with fuzzy skin, yellow-green to yellow-orange, with a hard stone.
- Bark
- Young bark is smooth and light gray; with age it peels and cracks.
Where it grows
- In Korea
- Planted
- Native to
- South-central China and Laos.
- Ecology
- Grows in woods and rocky hills; insects pollinate the flowers and the fruit attracts birds.
Stories
Famous Japanese Apricot trees in Korea
- Hwaeom Plum Tree of Hwaeomsa Temple, GuryeNatural Monument No. 485 · Masan-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do
- Japanese Apricot Tree Gobulmae of Baekyangsa Temple, JangseongNatural Monument No. 486 · Bukha-myeon, Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do
- Japanese Apricot of Seonamsa Temple (Seonammae), SuncheonNatural Monument No. 488 · Seungju-eup, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do
- Japanese Apricot Tree Yulgokmae of Ojukheon, GangneungNatural Monument No. 484 · Jukheon-dong, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
- Dongmae (Winter Plum) of BuyeoProvincial Monument · Gyuam-myeon, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do
Sources
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- 국립수목원 국가표준재배식물목록(개정)
- 국립생물자원관, 국가생물종목록 I(2019)
- 대구광역시 (2019), 제2차 대구광역시 도시림 등 조성·관리계획
- Australian RIRDC / Queensland Department of Agriculture — Commercialisation of mume in Australia (2015)
- Shi et al. (2012), Identification of Differentially-Expressed Genes Associated with Pistil Abortion in Japanese Apricot by Genome-Wide Transcriptional Analysis
- 한국농촌경제연구원 — 조경수 관측월보 2025년 12월(한국조경수협회 게시 원문)
- 한국민족문화대백과사전 '매실나무'
- 국가유산청 국가유산포털 — 천연기념물 강릉 오죽헌 율곡매 (국가유산 설명·개별안내판 설명)
- 국가유산청 국가유산포털 — 천연기념물 장성 백양사 고불매 (기본정보·개별안내판 설명)