Jindo Island Choharimuhwanja Tree

The muhwanja tree (無患樹, Chinese soapberry or soapnut tree) has the scientific name Sapindus mukorossi Gaertner. It belongs to the family Sapindaceae (about 120 genera and 1,000 species, mostly tropical with some in temperate zones; two genera and two species in Korea) and the genus Sapindus Linne (about 15 species, mostly tropical, with one species in Korea); it is a deciduous tree that grows near temples and villages in southern Korea. The Chohari Muhwanja Tree has a diameter at breast height of 90–96 cm, a basal diameter of 110–120 cm, a height of 21–22 m and a crown width of 8–11 m, and is estimated to be about 600 years old. A seasonal custom has been handed down in which villagers watch the moon rise from beneath the tree on Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar new year, to divine whether the coming year's harvest will be bountiful or poor. In particular, the tree's fruit was used as a substitute for soap, and it was believed that making prayer beads from it and offering them in Buddhist worship would bring prosperity to the temple, so both village and temple devoted great care to the tree. As an old, naturally growing tree in a burial ground adjoining the village, it holds scholarly value and, given its rarity, also cultural value for the conservation of natural resources.

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Where it is

Region

Jindo, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물