Plum in Winter - Painting Flowers

Description: Prunus mume is known by a number of different names in English. Arguably the most widely accepted is Japanese apricot. Other variants include Japanese plum and Chinese plum (both names also used for Prunus salicina). An alternative name is ume, from the Japanese name, or mume, from the scientific name, also ultimately based on an older, alternative Japanese pronunciation¡ªpossibly the original¡ªof "mme", which was written "mume". Another alternative is mei, from the Chinese name, which is usually seen in the context of Chinese art and cuisine, and imports from Chinese-speaking regions. Sometimes names such as ume plum and umeboshi plum (the latter referring to Japanese pickled ume) are also seen. For the tree and flower, names like Japanese flowering apricot, flowering plum, and winter plum may be used, the latter specifically with regard to depiction of the flower in Chinese painting. The tree flowers in late winter, typically late January or February in East Asia, before the leaves appear. Each flower has five petals and is 1¨C3 cm in diameter. The flowers have coloring ranging from white to rose to deep red. The leaves appear shortly after the petals fall. The leaves are oval, with a pointed tip. The fruit ripens in early summer, typically June in East Asia. The ripening of the fruit coincides with the rainy season of China and Japan,literally "ume rains"), read baiu or tsuyu in Japanese. Each fruit is round with a groove running from the stalk to the tip. The skin is green when unripe, and turns yellow, sometimes with a red blush, as it ripens. The flesh becomes yellow.