When do bayberry fruits ripen and hit the market, and where is the best, most famous and most delicious produce grown?

Bayberry, also known as sheng sheng mei, bai di mei and shu mei, has high medicinal and edible value, and is distributed in East China as well as Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and other regions of China. So when do bayberries ripen and hit the market? Which producing area is the best? Where are the most famous and most delicious bayberries?

When fresh bayberries ripen and hit the market

Bayberry fruits ripen in June, and June and July are when bayberries are most abundant. So bayberries generally reach the market during their ripening period, when they are relatively fresh.

Distribution range of bayberry

The provinces in China where bayberry is distributed include Yunnan, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Anhui and Taiwan, China.

Mountain bayberry is renowned far and wide, and the Ding'ao bayberry of Chashan Town is an even finer variety, enjoying a unique reputation.

According to legend, as early as the Ming Dynasty there was a bayberry tree beneath the Banzhang Cliff at Ding'ao. Because the shade below the cliff provided moderate moisture and the soil was loose and thick, it grew especially luxuriantly, and the bayberries it bore tasted especially fresh, sweet and delicious. By chance, the bayberries from below the cliff made their way into the city, and upon tasting, their color and flavor were considered the finest among the bayberries of the Wenzhou area. Afterwards, the people of Chashan took it as a parent stock and carried out grafting and propagation.

After several hundred years of careful cultivation, today's Ding'ao bayberry has large fruit, plenty of flesh and a small pit, each berry weighing 13 to 15 grams, with a diameter of about 3.20 cm, the largest reaching 3.37 cm. The fruit is purplish black with a glossy sheen, the fruit base is light green, and the stalk is about 1.5 cm long. It is known as “red plate, green base”; arranged on a white porcelain plate it is especially pleasing to the eye and makes the mouth water, and when tasted it is delightfully sweet and tart. Ding'ao bayberry also contains abundant various vitamins and trace elements needed by the human body. Eaten regularly, it brightens the eyes, strengthens the spleen and increases appetite. After the founding of the People's Republic, the production and management of Ding'ao bayberry received careful guidance from professional departments. The planting area and the quality of the varieties were both greatly expanded and improved. National professional journals and books introduced and promoted it many times as a famous bayberry variety. In 1981, it was rated a famous, special and superior fruit variety of Zhejiang Province.

Bayberry is a strongly seasonal fruit, and is most vulnerable to strong winds or continuous rainy weather. Bayberry is best eaten fresh, but it can also be steeped in baijiu to make a transparent, bright red bayberry wine, which is fragrant and relieves summer heat. It can also be made into dried bayberry or canned bayberry, and can be quick-frozen or refrigerated.

Before Liberation, the people around Chashan lived in poverty, and whenever the bayberry season came they feared the comings and goings of visitors, which were hard to cope with and added to the burden of daily life. So a local folk saying was passed down: “Bayberries white, invite the guests; bayberries red, deaf ears; bayberries purplish black, frighten a person half to death!” This vividly sketches the predicament of those times.

Since the reform and opening up of the 1980s, people's living standards have risen greatly. Bayberry, as a precious seasonal fresh fruit, is given to relatives and friends, or shipped by plane and other modern means of transport to markets at home and abroad, bringing fruit growers considerable economic income. Now, when the Chashan bayberry ripens, it has become a festive occasion for the people around Wenzhou. The streets of Chashan are crowded with people and heavy with traffic. Besides coming to taste Chashan bayberries, people also take the opportunity to visit such scenic spots as Wumei Garden, Wolong Pool and Shanzhong Lou, adding a bustling and joyful atmosphere to the green hills and clear waters of Chashan Town.

Where are the most famous and most delicious bayberries?

1. Jingzhou bayberry [Jingzhou, Huaihua, Hunan]

The bayberries produced in Jingzhou are of excellent quality and enjoy the reputation of “the finest bayberry of Jiangnan”. They are noted for their dark color, moderate sweet-and-tart flavor, large fruit with a small pit, excellent quality and rich nutrition. A poem in the Jingzhou Local Gazetteer says: "Mudong bayberry is especially renowned, the pears and chestnuts of Shenyuan also vie in fame; for a hundred coins one can buy them at a stall, how one wishes one could move the tree and plant it in the capital." In earlier times, Jingzhou bayberry was a tribute offering.

2. Yuyao bayberry [Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province]

Yuyao in Zhejiang is a national hometown of bayberry named by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Central Government. It has a long history of bayberry cultivation. According to research on the Hemudu site within its territory, a wild ancestor of bayberry already existed as early as 7000 years ago, and the history of artificial cultivation is more than 2000 years. The fruit is bright in color, juicy, and pleasantly sweet and tart, rich in various minerals and vitamins, and it has such provincial high-quality agricultural product brands as the “Heding Brand” Yuyao bayberry.

3. Xianju bayberry [Xianju, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province]

Xianju County is an important production base for Chinese bayberry, mainly growing the Biqi and Dongkui varieties; the Dongkui variety in particular has large fruit and a small pit, is sweet and tart and tasty, and is also called “ping-pong bayberry”. In 2002 Xianju was named a hometown of Chinese bayberry, and Xianju bayberry is also called “immortal bayberry”.

4. Cixi bayberry [Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province]

Judging from the records in gazetteers of past dynasties, in the early period Cixi bayberry was mostly of the litchi type, and only later did it develop into multiple varieties. The Biqi bayberry has relatively large fruit but a particularly small pit; when ripe its surface is purplish black, and it is sweet and juicy, with an edible rate of 95%. It contains abundant protein, iron, magnesium, copper and vitamin C, citric acid and various other beneficial components.

5. Fumin bayberry [Fumin County, Kunming, Yunnan]

Walking into Fumin, whether along the roadside or in the bayberry orchards, one can see everywhere bayberries so red and luscious and so refreshingly tempting that they bend the branches down. Besides being eaten fresh, bayberry can also be steeped to make bayberry wine. Bayberry wine tastes pure with a slight sweetness on the finish. The local villagers are very warm and hospitable; they not only teach visitors how to brew the wine, but also help visitors brew it and take it away free of charge, which has promoted the development of the brewing industry.