Bower Actinidia of Changdeokgung Palace

Dare (hardy kiwi, a vine of the genus Actinidia) grows well in fertile soil deep in the mountains of China, Japan and Korea. Its leaves are oval, appearing in spring and falling in autumn; it bears white flowers, three to ten to a cluster, in May, and its fruit ripens to a yellow-green colour in October, prized for its good taste and eaten by Koreans since ancient times. The Bower Actinidia of Changdeokgung Palace is estimated to be about 600 years old (at the time of designation), with around six thick stems spreading far out in every direction. It grows beside the site of Daebodan Altar, which once stood within Changdeokgung Palace; although it is now supported by props, its form is highly distinctive, and it is also unusual for the way the bark peels thinly away from its stems. The vine is thought to have been growing on this spot even before Changdeokgung Palace was built, and as the largest and oldest hardy kiwi vine in Korea it has great value for biological conservation. It is also valued as a historical record of a plant that has grown within a royal palace, and for this it has been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물