Prunus mume- Chinese herbal supplement and food for health

The apricot Japan, mume, or ume Ume (Prunus mume (Sieb.) Sieb. And Zucc.) Is a stone fruit shrub of the genus Prunus, attached to the large family Rosaceae. It is with apricot P. armeniaca and other apricot in the world1, the subgenus Prunus Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus2.

Its area of ​​origin is located in the central regions of southern China (Sichuan and Yunnan) and its cultivation spread throughout the Far East. It is deeply associated with the art and literature of the great civilizations of those regions.

In modern Chinese, the common name of the species Prunus mume is méi 梅, the tree itself meishu 梅树 his meizi fruit 梅子 or Meiguo 核果, its Meihua 梅花 flowers and mét. ornamental tree.

The species was introduced to Japan with Buddhism in the seventh – eighth century. The pronunciation of the spelling 梅 in Japan and Korea is derived from that of the medieval Chinese (Tang Dynasty) rebuilt as muəi3. The pronunciation of the Nara period was even (ん め?), Written mume (む め?). Mume latter pronunciation is completely obsolete in Japan and has been replaced by ume (う め?). In Korean, the pronunciation is maesil (hangul: 매실; Hanja: 梅 實)

The first descriptions by European naturalists were made in Japan in the nineteenth century. Specimens were collected well in China by Abel Clark, the doctor who accompanied the embassy of Lord Amherst in 1816 in this country but the first botanical description publiée4 dates from 1830 and is the work of Bavarian physician and naturalist Siebold, the European first to have taught medicine at Japan5. He then sent in 1844 living plants in Europe under the name of mume.

There is some confusion in the designation by the European languages ​​of Prunus mume. For years, the representation of its flowers (meihua 梅花) in traditional painting or porcelain, has been designated as “plum blossoms” (plum blossom or flowering plum). The authors of the late twentieth century, more cautious, but very vagues6, spoke of “prunus blossoms.” 7 In the Chinese cultural context, it seems difficult indeed to speak of “apricot Japan” to classic Chinese tree and the more general term of “apricot” is not appropriate either because designates another native species China, Prunus armeniaca, well known in Europe; As to that of “apricot China” (adopted by Needham & Lu Huang8), it is hardly more satisfactory since there are several indigenous apricot trees in the country. China has monosyllabic vernacular names to designate these native species mei 梅 Prunus mume and 杏 xing Prunus armeniaca and lǐ 李 for Prunus salicina. By cons when Prunus mume is grown as an ornamental tree in the West, it is designated as “Japanese apricot.”

Description

Prunus mume is a tree with a rounded crown of 4 to 6 meters high, bark gray roughly verdâtre9.

The leaves alternate, deciduous, the blade elliptical, oboval long-acuminate, the margins finely toothed, are five to eight centimeters long. They appear shortly after petal fall. The petiole of 1 to 2 cm long door usually nectaries.

Flowers white or pink corolla, usually formed of five petals, and numerous stamens bloom in early spring, in March-April, sometimes as early janvier9. The flowers are solitary or in pairs and are carried by a stalk court10 (1-10 mm). There are double flowering varieties prized for their ornamental appearance. The flowers exude a strong fragrance.

The fruits are small globular drupes (2 to 3 cm in diameter) clingstone. They are marked as apricots, a groove from the stem to the tip. They mature between late May and late July. They keep a variegated greenish yellow color and are quite acidic and very little sweet, but give off a pleasing fragrance.

Geographical distribution

Prunus mume is a species native to China (regions of Sichuan and Yunnan) that is grown everywhere in China, especially south of the Yangtze (Changjiang), Japan, Taiwan and Korea (from Flora of China11) . Next GRIN12 it would be native to Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam; it would be naturalized in Japan and is cultivated in China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

In China, it is grown in orchards in the Yangtze Valley and south of the river. In the north, it is grown as potted bonsai (pénzāi 盆栽) and must be returned in the greenhouse in winter.

In Japan, ornamental varieties of ume are classified Yabai (wild) hibai (red) and bungo (province of Bungo). The bungo are also grown for their fruit and are hybrids of ume and apricot.

Prunus mume medicinal use

The first Chinese book on medicinal plants, the Shennong bencao jing (first century AD) mentions apricots mei “The meishi 梅 实 are acidic and balanced. They let down the qi, eliminate heat and vexations, calm the heart … “To be kept in pharmacy, apricots must undergo preparation for drying and salting (Baimei 白梅 salty white apricots) or smoking (Wumei 乌梅 apricots smoked black). Li Shizhen, the famous physician and naturalist of the sixteenth century recommends black Wumei apricots to consolidate qi Lung and soothe coughs.

Currently a traditionnelle17 Chinese Pharmacopoeia reference book states that “the Wumei (乌梅), Fructus Mume, must be prepared from unripe fruit, cooked at low temperature until the skin crumples, then braised and blackened , pitted and used as is or charred. ” Its functions would be to consolidate the lung-qi, calm coughs, being astringent intestines and stop diarrhea, to promote the production of body fluids and quench thirst and to be anthelmintic. Its indications are thus being used against chronic cough, chronic diarrhea and insatiable thirst, but also the tapeworm and the roundworm.

Current research are numerous, especially around the umeboshi.