Top 20 Most Common Trees in Seoul

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Top 20 Most Common Trees in Seoul

Seoul, South Korea's unique climatic and soil dynamics provide ideal conditions for the growth of native trees. Three representative trees that thrive in this land include Japanese spicebush, Mongolian oak, and Corn plant. These trees hold significant cultural, ecological, and symbolic importance within the state's boundaries. With accuracy and reliance on reputable sources, this concise summary highlights the native trees that anchor themselves in Seoul's ecological essence.

Most Common Trees

Japanese spicebush

1. Japanese spicebush

The japanese spicebush is a flowering herbaceous shrub that is endemic to several Asian countries. It is traditionally used as a medicinal herb in Southeast Asian countries. In early spring, it produces small, yellow flowers with a spicy aroma. The RHS awarded this plant the Garden Merit Award.

Mongolian oak

2. Mongolian oak

The Quercus mongolica is native to Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia and Siberia. It provides useful timber since the tree can grow to be 30 m tall. The mongolian oak is commonly used in furniture and finishing lumber. It's drought-tolerant but does prefer moist, well-drained soils.

Japanese maple

3. Japanese maple

A woody plant native to East Asia, the japanese maple features hand-shaped leaves with five-pointed lobes that resemble the palm of a hand. It has been cultivated for millennia in Japan for bonsai creation. Extracts from the branches and leaves of this plant are used as medicine in Chinese traditional medicine.

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Corn plant

Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) is an evergreen, slow-growing perennial shrub native to tropical Africa. Also, it is a classic houseplant, grown in Europe since the 1800s. Its glossy green foliage that resembles corn leaves grow on top of a thick cane, which is why the plant is sometimes called “false palm tree.”

Japanese callicarpa

5. Japanese callicarpa

Japanese callicarpa fruit is an important food source for deer and various bird species. This plant is grown ornamentally for its attractive flowers and fruit, and it is a good pioneer species that can be used to revegetate degraded soils.

Japanese red pine

6. Japanese red pine

The evergreen and conifer japanese red pine has thin, reddish bark and can grow up to 30 m tall. It has plumes of green needles, and as it grows older, the appearance may look like a flattened crown. The pine supports the larvae of the imperial moth that appear from spring to fall.

Black locust

7. Black locust

While the black locust may have a bad reputation in many areas of the US due to its opportunistic and rapid growth, there are benefits to this tree. The black locust is an important food source for honey bees and is a good choice for windbreaks since it grows so quickly (91 to 122 cm per year). Its wood also resists rot, so it is used in fenceposts. The plant is highly toxic, though, and should never be consumed.

Java brucea

Java brucea contains a host of biologically-active compounds in each part of the plant, making it excruciatingly bitter and even mildly toxic. Local peoples have used the bitter and oil-rich seeds and roots as a form of insecticide. You can find this tree growing in open areas and secondary forests throughout Asia and Australia.

Japanese zelkova

9. Japanese zelkova

This dense shade tree is particularly useful for planting near streets and in parking lots and lawns. It is also popularly used as a bonsai tree. Japanese zelkova is resistant to Dutch elm disease and has therefore been increasingly used in place of American elms.

Tartarian maple

10. Tartarian maple

Tartarian maple tree (Acer tataricum) gets its name from the Tatar people of southern Russia. It is found across the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It grows as either a shrub or tree and can reach heights of 12 m and generates winged seeds. Some farmers use the tartarian maple as a windbreak and it also serves as an ornamental tree.

Kousa dogwood

11. Kousa dogwood

The kousa dogwood is known for its ornamental appeal. The showy flowers and bark, as well as the lovely fall foliage, make this vase-shaped tree a great addition to your patio, yard, or lawn. The tree matures to about 9 m high and is often just as wide.

Rubber tree

12. Rubber tree

Rubber tree (Ficus elastica) is a large tree with wide, oval, glossy leaves. Its milky white latex was used for making rubber before Pará rubber tree came into use, hence the name. Rubber tree is an ornamental species, often grown as a houseplant in cooler climates.

Japanese cherry

13. Japanese cherry

The japanese cherry tradition, called Hanami, where people have picnics and outdoor parties under these trees, is a popular attraction. The excellent spring colors of the Prunus serrulata tree attract butterflies like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Its showy pink and white flowers are in full bloom in early to mid-spring, and some are fragrant.

Keijo maple

14. Keijo maple

Keijo maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum) is a small maple tree. This plant is cultivated as an ornamental due to its stunning shape and foliage that can change into shades of yellow, orange, and red in fall. The tree is also equipped with pretty white and purple flowers and winged fruits. This species is a magnificent shrub for parks and woodland gardens.

Rose of sharon

15. Rose of sharon

Hibiscus syriacus is a deciduous shrub with trumpet-shaped pink, lavender, or white flowers. Although it was first collected by Western botanists from Syrian gardens, “rose of sharon” is native to south-central and southeastern China. Because of its hardiness and prolific blooming, it is cultivated all around the world. It is the national flower of South Korea, mentioned in its national anthem.

White mulberry

16. White mulberry

The white mulberry (Morus australis) is native to northern China but is naturalized in the USA. It is cultivated to feed the silkworms involved in the commercial production of silk. When it releases its pollen, the stamens act as catapults, and the pollen is ejected at 380 miles per hour, the fastest recorded movement in the plant world.

Japanese chestnut

17. Japanese chestnut

Japanese chestnut is a medium-sized chestnut tree that has been used in plant-disease resistance research due to its resistance to chestnut blight and ink disease. An important nut crop, the plant grows in the foothills of Japan and Korea, where the nuts are enjoyed as a sweet snack.

Bao li

Quercus serrata is a deciduous oak tree reaching a height of 25 m. Leaves are up to 17 cm long by 9 cm wide leathery elliptical in shape with serrated margins. Petioles are short (3 cm). Flowers are pistillate inflorescences from 1.5 to 3 cm long occurring in spring. Seeds are oval shaped acorns 1.7 to 2 cm long and take 1 year to mature. Bark is grey or reddish-brown with longitudinal furrows.

Emerald tree

19. Emerald tree

A fairly new plant to the houseplant scene, the emerald tree grows in the shape of a tree but remains compact. Radermachera sinica plants thrive in four to five hours of bright indirect light per day with moist but well-draining soil. Despite their finicky nature, Radermachera sinica is becoming increasingly popular as a houseplant.

Mountain lacquer tree

20. Mountain lacquer tree

The leaves are odd-winged double leaves with 4-8 pairs of leaflets. The leaves are ring-shaped and the smaller the lower leaves. Hair grows densely on both sides of the leaf. The leaves of mature trees are rounded but the leaves of young trees have saw teeth. The petioles and leaf stems also have hair and are reddish. It turns red in the fall. It is a hermaphroditic strain with yellow-green flowers around spring. The fruit is tonsil-like and has stings on the surface.

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