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1. PRUNUS MUME

Ume
Ume blossoms, March
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Prunus
Subgenus:	Prunus
Section:	Armeniaca
Species:	P. mume
Binomial name
Prunus mume Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume, commonly known as ume or Japanese apricot, is a species of Asian plum in the family Rosaceae. The flower is usually known as the plum blossom.

The tree originates from China, and was brought to Japan and Korea later. The tree is cultivated for its fruit and flowers. Although generally referred to as a plum in the English language, it is actually more closely related to the apricot.

The tree flowers in late winter, typically late January or February in East Asia, before the leaves appear. Each flower has five petals and is 1–3 cm in diameter. The flowers are typically white, though cultivars may have rose or deep red flowers. The leaves appear shortly after the petals fall. The leaves are oval, with a pointed tip. The fruit ripens in early summer, typically June in East Asia. The ripening of the fruit coincides with Jiangnan's rainy season, meiyu (梅雨, lit. "ume rains"), read baiu or tsuyu in Japanese. Each fruit is round with a groove running from the stalk to the tip. The skin is green when unripe, and turns yellow, sometimes with a red blush, as it ripens. The flesh becomes yellow.

Names

In North America, the fruit and tree are generally known by the Japanese name, ume. However, there are a number of other common names. These include Japanese apricot, Japanese plum (also used for Prunus salicina and Eriobotrya japonica), and Chinese plum (also used for Prunus salicina). Mume is a largely obsolete name based on an older, alternative Japanese pronunciation—possibly the original—of "mme" (んめ), which was written "mume" (むめ). Sometimes names such as ume plum and umeboshi plum are also seen. For the tree and flower, names like Japanese flowering apricot, flowering plum, and winter plum may be used, the latter specifically with regard to depiction of the flower in Chinese painting.

In Chinese it is called méi (梅) or méizi (梅子) The Japanese name is ume (kanji: 梅; hiragana: うめ) while the Korean name is maesil (hangul: 매실; hanja: 梅實). The Japanese and Korean terms derive from Middle Chinese, in which the pronunciation is thought to have been muəi.. The Vietnamese name is mai or mơ (although mai also refers to a different plant, Ochna integerrima, in the south of Vietnam).

2. PLUM BLOSSOM

The plum blossom is the conventional name for the flower of Prunus mume. The plum flower has been well loved and celebrated in China and East Asian cultures influenced by it. While other flowering plums (e.g. Prunus salicina, are known in East Asia, that of P. mume is of special cultural and artistic significance.

In China, plum blossoms are most commonly used as decoration during the Chinese New Year. The blossoms are common subjects in Chinese art and are among the most beloved of Chinese flowers. Unlike the Japanese, however, the Chinese see the blossoms as more of a symbol for winter rather than a harbinger of spring. It is precisely for this reason that the blossoms are so beloved, because they bloom most vibrantly amidst the winter snow, after other plants have shed their leaves, and before any other flowers appear. Thus, they are seen as an example of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, and have also been used as a metaphor to symbolize revolutionary struggle. Because they blossom in winter, the plum blossom, the pine, and the bamboo together have been called the "Three Friends of the Cold" (歲寒三友).

China and Taiwan

Apart from that, the blossom is one of the Four Gentlemen (四君子) in Chinese art (the others being orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo), symbolizing nobility. These are also the four flowers that appear on mahjong tile sets.

The blossom has long been a floral symbol of the ancient Chinese city of Nanjing. In 1964, the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (which has retreated to Taiwan since 1949) adopted the five-petaled plum blossom ("prunus mei") as the national flower of the Republic of China.. It also serves as the logo of China Airlines, the national carrier of the Republic of China. The flower features prominently on the currency and other national symbols. In mainland China, the flower also features on currency and other important symbols.

Japan

Plum blossoms (ume no hana) are often mentioned in Japanese poetry as a symbol of spring. When used in haiku or renga, they are a kigo or season word for early spring. The blossoms are associated with the Japanese Bush Warbler, and they are depicted together as one of the twelve suits on hanafuda (Japanese playing cards). During the Nara period (8th century), the blossom of the tree was preferred over the cherry blossom, which became popular after the Heian period (794-1185).

Japanese tradition holds that the plum flower functions as a protective charm against evil. For this reason, the tree' is traditionally planted in the north-east of the garden, the direction from which evil is believed to come. The eating of the pickled fruit for breakfast is also supposed to stave off misfortune.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, due to the beauty of the tree and its flowers, the word mai (plum blossom) is used to name girls. In Confucianism, mai is named in the group of four "elite" plants: lan - orchid,cúc - chrysanthemum, trúc - bamboo, and mai. The largest hospital in Hanoi is named Bach Mai ("white plum"), another hospital in Hanoi is named Mai Huong ("the scent of plum"), situated in Hong Mai ("pink ume") street. Hoang Mai ("yellow plum'") is the name of a district in Hanoi. Bach Mai is also a long and old street in Hanoi. All these places are located in the south part of Hanoi, where, in the past, many Prunus mume were grown.

Due to its characteristics, beautiful flowers and a tall, slender tree, the plum flower is used to describe the beauty of women in expressions such as "Mình hạc xương mai" - crane's body, plum bone, and "Gầy như mai" - as slender as a plum.

Hồ Quý Ly wooed and won Princess Nhất Chi Mai of the Trần king after seeing a parallel couplet:

Thanh Thử điện tiền thiên thụ quế

Quảng Hàn cung lý Nhất Chi Mai.

meaning: Thanh Thử palace, thousands of cinnamon trees here

Quảng Hàn palace, Nhất Chi Mai there".

Nhất Chi Mai is the name of the princess, but also means a branch of mai, implying a beautiful girl.

The Zen monk Thích Mãn Giác monk composed a poem "Cáo tật thị chúng" (meaning: Report of my illness).

Xuân khứ bách hoa lạc Spring goes, hundreds of flower fall

Xuân đáo bách hoa khai Spring comes, hundreds of flowers blossom.

Sự trục nhãn tiền qúa In front of the eyes, everything goes on ever

Lão tùng đầu thượng lai On the heads, showing the year of age soon comes.

Mạc vị xuân tàn hoa lạc tận Who can say when spring ends, all flowers fall down?

Đình tiền tạc dạ nhất chi mai Last night, in front-yard, a branch of ume flower blossomed.

In this poem, nhất chi mai serves as a metaphor for hope (similarly to the last leaf in the short story The Last Leaf by O.Henry)

The mai used to celebrate the new year in the south, similar to the peach in the north, is in fact a different plant from Prunus mume (Ochna integerrima).

Varieties

China

In China, there are over 300 recorded cultivars of Prunus mume, which can be broadly divided by colour into white, pink, red, purple, and light green types. Some varieties are especially famed for their ornamental value, including the Dahong mei (大红梅; literally "big red mei"), Taige mei (lit. "pavilion mei"), Zhaoshui mei (lit. "reflecting water mei"), Lü'e mei (lit. "green calyx mei"), Longyou mei (lit. "swimming dragon mei").

As the tree can usually grow for a long time, ancient Prunus mume trees are found throughout China. Huangmei county (lit. "Yellow Plum") in Hubei features a 1600-year-old tree from the Jin Dynasty which is still flowering.

Japan

Unripe ume fruits

In Japan, ornamental Prunus mume cultivars are classified into yabai (lit. "wild ume") types, hibai ("red ume") types, and bungo ("Bungo province") type. The bungo trees are also grown for fruit and supposed to be hybrids between Prunus mume and apricot. The hibai trees have red heartwood and most of them have red flowers. The yabai trees are also used as grafting stock.

3. UME

Ume is also one of the Sami languages

Ume is also the name of a town in Ōita Prefecture, Japan

For the river in Sweden see Ume River

The ume, often also known as Japanese apricot, Japanese plum, ume plum or umeboshi plum, is the the fruit of the Japanese apricot (Prunus mume). It is widely used in East Asian cultures for both culinary and medicinal uses. Due to the tart flavor, it is seldom eaten fresh.

Culinary use

Juice

Ume juice is extracted by preserving the fruits in sugar. In China, sour plum juice (Chinese: 酸梅汤; pinyin: suānméitāng)^photo is made from smoked ume (Chinese: 乌梅; pinyin: wūméi; lit. 'dark plum'). It ranges from light pinkish orange to purplish black in color and often has a smoky and slightly salty taste. It is traditionally flavoured with sweet osmanthus flowers, and is enjoyed chilled, usually in summer. The juice produced in Japan and Korea, made from green fruit, tastes sweet and tangy, and is considered a refreshing drink, also often enjoyed in the summer. In Korea, maesil juice, which is marketed as a healthful tonic, is enjoying increasing popularity. It is commercially available in glass jars in sweetened, concentrated syrup form; it is reconstituted by stirring a small amount of syrup into a glass of water. The syrup may also be prepared at home by storing one part fresh maesil in a container with one part sugar (but no water).

Liquor

A glass of umeshu

Ume liquor, also known as "plum wine", is popular in both Japan and Korea, and is also produced in China.^[1] Umeshu (梅酒, sometimes translated as "plum wine") is a Japanese alcoholic drink made by steeping green ume in shōchū (燒酎, clear liquor).^photo It is sweet and smooth. The taste and aroma of umeshu can appeal to even those people who normally dislike alcohol. A similar liquor in Korea, called maesil ju (매실주), is marketed under various brand names including Mae Hwa Su, Mae Chui Soon, and Seol Joong Mae. Both the Japanese and Korean varieties of ume liquor are available with whole ume fruits contained in the bottle.^photo

In China, ume wine is called mei jiu (梅酒).

In Taiwan, a popular post-World War II innovation on Japanese-style umeshu is the wumeijiu, or Wumei liquor (烏梅酒), which is made by mixing Prunus mume liquor (梅酒 méijǐu), Prunus salicina liquor (李酒 lǐjǐu), and Oolong tea liquor.

Pickled and preserved ume

Umeboshi

Umeboshi (梅干), or pickled ume, are a Japanese specialty. Flavoured with salt and purple shiso (perilla) leaves, they are red in color and quite salty and sour, and therefore eaten sparingly. Umeboshi are generally eaten with rice as part of a bento, although they may also be used in makizushi. Makizushi made with ume may be made with either umeboshi or umeboshi paste, often in conjunction with green shiso leaves. A by-product of umeboshi production is umeboshi vinegar, a salty, sour condiment. In Chinese cuisine, ume that are pickled with vinegar and salt are called suān méizi (酸梅子), and have a similar intensely sour and salty flavor as umeboshi.

Huamei (Chinese: 話梅; pinyin: huàméi; lit. 'talk plum'), or Chinese preserved plum, refers to any of a large number of Chinese foods involving plums pickled in sugar, salt, and herbs such as licorice.^photo There are two general varieties: a dried variety, and a wet (pickled) variety. However, flavours and methods of preparation differ widely by region. Huamei are usually consumed as a snack.

In Vietnam, a very similar variety of pickled ume is called xí muội or ô mai.^photo

Sauce

A thick, sweet Chinese sauce called mei jiang (梅醬) or meizi jiang (梅子醬), usually translated as "plum sauce,"^photo is also made from ume, along with other ingredients such as sugar, vinegar, salt, ginger, chili, and garlic. Similar to duck sauce, it is used as a condiment for various Chinese dishes, including poultry dishes and egg rolls.

Medicinal use

In traditional Chinese medicine, the smoked fruits, called wumei (烏梅), are used for medicinal purposes. They are generally black in color and are believed to be effective against parasites, as well as in stopping ulcers and promoting a strong digestive system and heart.