It contains stories about 156 types of Jeju trees, easily explained by an eco-guide.
You can find trees that can only be found in Jeju Island, as well as trees that were used extensively in Jeju Island or have interesting stories.
There is information that organizes the main ecological characteristics of trees, such as stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, to help you better recognize the trees, but there are also interesting stories that help you understand the lives and culture of Jeju Island people, such as the origin of names, old stories, and the various uses of trees.

Camellia trees have a beautiful color harmony with their brilliant red petals, yellow stamens rising between them, and glossy dark green leaves.
The petals overlap each other and are attached at the bottom, giving the appearance of a deep castle wall.
This flower structure is more advantageous to birds than insects, so camellia trees rely on the pollination of their flowers by the common tit.
This type of flower is called bird-borne flower because 'birds carry pollen'.
It is said that there are many camellias in warm southern countries where many colorful flowers bloom, but in Korea, the camellia tree is the only one.

The fir trees enrich Mount Halla.
The soft green leaves that grow vigorously even in cold places, the pine cone-like flowers that make you forget boredom with their various colors, and the strangely shaped stems that live for 100 years even after death are all very unique.
Also, in the Baekrokdam area, there is a dense forest of fir trees that are 5 to 8 meters tall, and near the azalea fields, there are large trees that are up to 18 meters tall.
But recently, the fir trees have been rapidly disappearing.
Recent studies have shown that an increasing number of fir trees are dying due to climate change, including strong winds, heavy rain, heavy snowfall in winter, and drought.
As the weather gets warmer, we also hear that pests are increasing and causing plants to dry up and die.
As a result, it is easy to find dead trees on Mt. Halla that have increased rapidly compared to 10 years ago.


South of the Han River, the only natural habitat for Shiromi is Mt. Halla.
There is only one species of Shiromi in the genus Shiromi, so it can be said to be a very rare plant.
It is an isolated plant that was formed when northern plants that lived in cold regions during the Ice Age came down to Jeju Island and then fled to the relatively cooler Baekrokdam area of ​​Mt. Halla as the weather got warmer.
These are called preserved species, and among the plants that live on Mt. Halla, in addition to Shiromi, they include Ammae, Wild Zelkova, and Snow Zelkova.

In Jeju Island, the fruit of the Jajumu tree is called 'pheasant's nut', and the fruit of the coral tree is also called 'pheasant's nut'.
The two plants appear similar, especially their fruits, so they seem to have been given the same name.
In Jeju dialect, 'tal' means 'wild strawberry'.
That is, it means 'pheasant's strawberry'.
Coral trees that bear fruit in winter serve as an important food source for birds.
Moreover, it is a very valuable thing for pheasants that are small and cannot fly well.

The crow tree is the most common tree found along the coast of Jeju Island.
On the ridge of the field near the seashore, a few crow-trees, not planted by anyone, stand here and there, acting as a windbreak.
The fruit of the crowberry tree is called 'gurumbi' in Jeju Island.
There were so many crow trees that there was even a place where the name Gurumbi was used as a place name.
A representative example is Gureombi Rock on the beach in Gangjeong-dong, Seogwipo-si, which attracted the attention of the entire nation a few years ago due to the naval base issue.

Jeju Island is called the 'home of the gods' with as many as 18,000 gods.
There is a shrine in every village, and every year the residents pray there for the well-being of their families.
Most of the trees used for sugarcane in Jeju Island are pine trees, but various other trees, such as the chestnut tree and the Japanese pagoda tree, are also used for sugarcane.
The Haesindang Shrine in Sinheung-ri, Jochon-eup, Jeju-si has a barley rice tree as its main tree.
Although it is not very tall, it is estimated to be a fairly old tree, judging by the thick trunk circumference.
Usually, when we see a tree, we are awed by its size, but the barley rice tree in Sinheung-ri gives us a warm feeling as if it will always be there.

In Jeju dialect, when a haenyeo goes into the water, it is called 'sumbigi'.
The name "hidden tree" was given to it because the stems resemble each other as they grow out hidden in the sandy ground.
The words Sumbiginang and Sumbuginang, which are called in Jeju Island, have become standard words.
The pea-sized fruit, which ripens in the fall, is covered with cork to block out the salt from the seawater.
The fruit is light and can float on water, making it easy to disperse the seeds.


The zelkova tree, which grows well even in Gotjawal, is a symbolic tree of Jeju, as it resembles the lives of the Jeju people who lived in a harsh environment.
However, in Jeju Island, it is said that they did not plant zelkova trees inside houses because of a superstition that said ghosts would not come if there was a zelkova tree there.
Jeju's female divers made various tools out of oak to prepare for potential misfortunes that could occur underwater.
It is said that camphor, a substance that stimulates the heart, is contained in the camphor tree and helps patients wake up.
The Song Dynasty trading ship from the Goryeo Dynasty, which sank in the sea off Sinan and was salvaged a few years ago while loaded with relics, was made of camphor wood.
Because the wood is hard and does not rot easily, it has been used to make ships since ancient times.

The name 'Meoguinamu' comes from the name 'Meogui-nang', which is used in Jeju Island.
This tells us that the most abundant species of Zelkova tree grow on Jeju Island.
In Jeju Island, when parents passed away, the chief mourner would cry while holding a walking stick called a jangjang (mourning staff).
The father used bamboo and the mother used maple as the material for the cane.
This is because it is believed that the thorns on the trunk of the magnolia tree symbolize the mother's suffering.
On the other hand, on land, when a mother passes away, paulownia wood is used as a funeral material.
While on the mainland, chests were made of paulownia wood, on Jeju Island, chestnut wood was used.
Because the Chinese character name for the Korean maple tree is Odongnamu, on the mainland, the Korean maple tree is called Odongnamu, and on Jeju Island, the Korean maple tree is called Odongnamu.
However, the paulownia tree and the Japanese maple tree are different trees.
It's interesting that although the two trees grew in different places, they had the same name and were used for the same purpose.

---From the text