''Prunus salicina'' (
syn. ''Prunus triflora'' or ''Prunus thibetica''), commonly called the Japanese plum or Chinese plum, is a small
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
tree
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to China. It is now also grown in fruit orchards in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Israel, the United States, and Australia.
''Prunus salicina'' should not be confused with ''
Prunus mume
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
'', a related species also grown in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Another tree, ''
Prunus japonica
''Prunus japonica'' (also ''Cerasus japonica''), also called Japanese bush cherry, Oriental bush cherry, or Korean bush cherry is a shrub species in the genus ''Prunus'' that is widely cultivated for ornamental use. Its native range extends fro ...
'', is also a separate species despite having a Latin name similar to ''Prunus salicinas common name. Plant breeder
Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849 – April 11, 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science.
He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank's varied creations inc ...
devoted a lot of work to hybridizing this species with the Japanese plum (''Prunus salicina'') and developed a number of cultivars from the hybrid.
Description
''Prunus salicina'' grows up to tall, and it has reddish-brown shoots. The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2.5–5 cm broad, with serrate margins. The flowers are produced in early spring, each about 2 cm in diameter with five white petals.
The fruit is a
drupe
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
, 4–7 cm in diameter with yellow-pink flesh. It can be harvested in the summer. When fully ripe it can be eaten raw.
Cultivation
Many different varieties of ''Prunus salicina'', some being hybrid species, are cultivated in China. ''Prunus salicina'' is also widely cultivated in Japan and Korea. The most famous variety of this fruit in Vietnam is the
Tam Hoa plum grown in
Bắc Hà town, in
Lào Cai Province.
Japanese cultivars were introduced into the United States in the latter half of the 19th century, where subsequent breeding produced many more cultivars, generally with larger fruit. Many of these American cultivars involve hybridization with ''
P. simonii'' and ''
P. cerasifera''. One of the famous cultivars is “Santa Rosa”, named after the city in California.
Most of the fresh plums sold in North American supermarkets are ''Prunus salicina'' cultivars or hybrids. They are grown on a large scale in a number of other countries, for example, they dominate the
stone fruit
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
industry in Western Australia.
Plums.jpg
Shiny plum.jpg
16-09-17-WikiLovesCocktails-Zutaten-Img0163.jpg
Black Amber Plum DS.jpg, Black Amber plum
Plums African Rose - whole, halved and slice.jpg, Africa Rose plum
Uses
Culinary
In China, candied fruits are also sold preserved, flavoured with sugar, salt, and
liquorice
Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
The liqu ...
.
In Japan, while it is less commonly eaten than closely related ''
Prunus mume
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
'', it is pickled and colored in a similar manner. Especially in Eastern Japan, many
summer festivals
Summer is the Heat, hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after Spring (season), spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark h ...
sell pickled fruits covered in
mizuame
is a sweetener from Japan. A clear, thick, sticky liquid, it is made by converting starch to sugars. is added to to give them a sheen, eaten in ways similar to honey, and can be a main ingredient in sweets. Some are produced in a very simil ...
candy called anzuame (apricot candy, as apricots were traditionally used for the recipe).
In both countries, it is also used half ripe as a flavouring in a
liqueur
A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
called ''sumomo shu'' (すもも酒) in Japanese
photo
/sup> .
For other uses of this and similar species see plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
.
Medicinal
The fruits are also used in Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
. Japanese plums cv. Crimson Globe may be taken as a source of antioxidants with a potential to counteract oxidation.
Etymology
The specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
, ''salicina'', is derived from the Latin word for willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
.
See also
*''Prunus mume
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
''
References
External links
*
*
ibiblio.org - ''Prunus salicina''
{{Authority control
salicina
salicina
Fruits originating in East Asia
Flora of China
Japanese cuisine
Japanese fruit
Trees of China
Garden plants of Asia