Q. Is Japanese flowering apricot fruit edible?
Answer
Thank you for your question. Prunus mume, the beautiful Japanese flowering apricot although in the West it is generally considered inedible, in the East the bitter and sour fruit is reportedly eaten salted, dried as a vegetable or soaked in alcohol for several years. I wouldn’t eat it since it’s not a fruit that has been consumed here in the U.S. Even fruits that are edible in other parts of the world, in our area, one can have an allergic reaction. Also, to properly identify it, the flower and all parts are important. More her from BBG link: https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/japanese_flowering_apricot.
Winter interest: tree has winter interest due to unusual form, nice persistent fruits, showy winter trunk, or winter flowers Outstanding tree: tree has outstanding ornamental features and could be planted more.
http://hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/prumuma.pdf
There are multiple varieties/cultivars https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc368/student/papers03/ccharpentier/charpentier_cedric4.html
Hope this helps.
