Suncheon Pyeongchon-ri Fringe Tree

The name ipatnamu (fringe tree) is said to come from the way the tree is covered entirely in white blossom when it flowers, resembling ipap, or steamed white rice; another account holds that because it blooms at the start of summer, around the solar term ipha (立夏), it was first called ipamok and later came to be known as ipatnamu. The Suncheon Pyeongchon-ri fringe tree stands beside a narrow stream that flows from the hill behind Nongso village down past the front of the village. At about 1.6 m above the ground the trunk divides into three thick branches, giving the tree a large and beautiful form, and it remains in healthy growth. It is thought to be about 400 years old, stands 13 m high, and has a trunk girth of 3.5 m at chest height. The tree is said to have been planted when Nongso village was first settled, and a legend tells that during a severe drought long ago every other tree in the village withered and died, but this tree alone survived. Until a few years ago it was a dangsanmok, a sacred village tree honoured with a dangje rite held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to pray for the village's peace and a good harvest; today it serves simply as a shade tree for the village. The Pyeongchon-ri fringe tree is not only a species rarely seen elsewhere but also an uncommon old tree that is fully 400 years old, a valuable tree in which the history of the village is embodied.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물