Japanese apricot

Mume (Prunus mume), also called Japanese apricot or Chinese plum, is a small deciduous tree of the rose family (Rosaceae), 4–10 m tall with slender branches. Leaves are alternate, ovate and serrate, shed in winter. Its hallmark is the blossom: white or pale-pink, five-petalled, delicately fragrant, opening from late winter to early spring, usually before the leaves emerge. The fruit is a small spherical drupe, green turning yellow when ripe, very sour and somewhat astringent, so it is almost never eaten raw but always processed. The species is native to East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam) and has been cultivated for over 1,500 years both for its fruit and its flowers.

Ripe mume fruit is processed into many products: ô mai (salted dried mume with ginger and sugar), mume jam, mume liqueur, and refreshing drinks; in Japan as umeboshi and umeshu. In traditional medicine, mume fruit (with salt and ginger) makes ô mai to relieve cough and sore throat, promote fluids and aid digestion; the seed (mume kernel) is used medicinally but contains amygdalin (which yields hydrocyanic acid) so must be used with care. The tree is also famous for the beauty and fragrance of its blossom, a symbol of spring in East Asian culture, associated with New Year in Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam. In Vietnam it is grown in the northern mountains (Ha Giang, Lang Son, Sa Pa) for fruit and ornamental flowers.