Saw-leaf Zelkova of Oga-ri, Goesan

The zelkova is found in warm regions including Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China. Its branches spread out in all directions to give the tree a rounded form; it flowers in May, and its disc-shaped fruit ripens in October. Because its trunk grows thick and it lives for a long time, it has traditionally been used as a shade tree offering rest to villagers, or protected as a guardian tree believed to watch over a village. This zelkova is estimated to be about 800 years old (as of the date of designation). It consists of two trees: the upper tree, 20.0 m tall with a girth of 8.0 m at chest height, and the lower tree, 22.0 m tall with a girth of 9.6 m at chest height. The lower tree has three main branches; the one extending east broke off long ago and died back, leaving a hollow inside the trunk. The upper tree stands on higher ground 60 m north of the lower tree and is in healthier condition by comparison. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, villagers hold a guardian-spirit rite beneath the lower tree. The Saw-leaf Zelkova of Oga-ri, Goesan is a large, old tree that has lived on under the care and attention of past generations for a long time, and it holds high value as folkloric and biological material; it is accordingly designated and protected as a Natural Monument.

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Where it is

Region

Goesan, Chungbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물