''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, ...

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 in ...

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 ''

'', it is pickled and colored in a similar manner. Especially in Eastern Japan, many

summer festivals Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

sell pickled fruits covered in mizuame 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 beyon ...

called ''sumomo shu'' (すもも酒) in Japanesephoto
/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 ...

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 acti ...

. 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, bo ...

, ''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 so ...

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