Prunus mume

Prunus mume, known as the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a species of tree closely related to the apricot, P. armenica. P. mume is indigenous to Southern China, primarily near the Yangtze River Valley, and during its millennia-long cultivation by the Chinese, has been introduced into Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and eventually, Europe and North America.

As with most other species in the genus Prunus, P. mume is a deciduous tree that is typically about 4 to 10 meters tall when fully grown. P. mume has small flowers that bloom from late winter to early spring, and range in color from white to pink to red. Numerous varieties have been developed over the centuries by Chinese, Korean, Japanese and European horticulturists primarily or exclusively for their flowers.

The fruit has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for thousands of years to regulate liver qi stagnation.