Is the plum blossom a deciduous or evergreen plant?

The plum blossom is listed together with the orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum as one of the Four Gentlemen; it is also known, together with the pine and bamboo, as one of the Three Friends of Winter. In winter, this season when all things are bleak and the cold wind is biting, everything has fallen silent, yet the plum blossom stands proud against the cold, blooming undefeated in the wind. So, is the plum blossom actually an evergreen plant or a deciduous plant?

I. The phenological characteristics of the plum blossom

The plum blossom is a small tree of the genus Armeniaca in the family Rosaceae, native to southern China; it is now cultivated throughout China, but most abundantly in the provinces south of the Yangtze River basin. Most plum trees are deciduous, but there are also a very few evergreen types. The main characteristic of the evergreen plum is that its leaves are thicker, nearly leathery, and dark green, and at the end of the current year or the beginning of the next year a large number of green leaves still persist on the branches, achieving the effect of flowers and leaves coexisting. Only after the new leaves emerge do the persistent old leaves gradually fall, creating a landscape with leaves in all four seasons.

The plum blossom is a tree species native to our country, with a very long history of cultivation in China, having more than 3000 years of applied history. Ancient texts record that in olden times the plum was used as a substitute for dairy products as a seasoning, and was an indispensable raw material for sacrifices, cooking, and gifts. The Book of Songs · Zhou Nan says: “There are plums on the tree, seven of the fruit remain!”. Since the Han dynasty, every successive dynasty has left numerous records on the planting and cultivation of the plum blossom, and the poems, odes, and songs praising the plum blossom in ancient books are too numerous to count.

II. The value of the plum blossom

The value of the plum blossom lies mainly in its ornamental and medicinal uses. The culture of plum appreciation in China has a long history; from the Han dynasty onward, the plum was a dual-purpose variety grown both for its flowers and its fruit. The Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital states: “When the Shanglin Garden was built in the early Han, distant places each presented famous fruits and rare trees, including the Red Plum and the Rouge Plum.” After the Sui and Tang dynasties, plum horticulture gradually flourished, and a Plum Manual devoted specifically to recording the plum blossom appeared; in the development of the ancients, judging the quality of a plum blossom focused on aspects such as color, fragrance, form, charm, and timing. In addition, the fruit of the fruiting plum can also be processed or used medicinally, generally processed into various preserves and jams.

When the plum blossom is used medicinally, its flowers, leaves, roots, and fruit can all be used as medicine; the medicinal effects of its flower buds are to stimulate the appetite and dispel stagnation, promote fluid production and resolve phlegm, and invigorate the blood and remove toxins, while the root ground into powder is effective for treating jaundice; the unripe fruit contains citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, and the like; the seeds contain amygdalin; the flowers contain volatile oil, and the oil contains benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, and the like, all of which are of great benefit to the human body.

That is all we will say about the plum blossom. If you see a plum blossom in full bloom on a cold winter day, it is sure to lift your spirits and inspire you to strive forward.