Goesan Yulji-ri Abeliophyllum distichum Native Habitat

The Goesan Yulji-ri Abeliophyllum distichum native habitat is located on a hill in the middle of a low mountain in Chilseong-myeon, Goesan-gun, and was discovered in 1967. Abeliophyllum distichum is a Korean endemic plant belonging to the Oleaceae family, thriving in rocky areas with shallow, widely spreading roots. The mid-slope of the low mountain, not far from a village with a view of Gunja Mountain in the distance, is a place piled with large rocks and coarse stones. Its height is usually about 1m, with many branches; the lateral branches are straight but curved at the tips, and the young branches are reddish-brown or brown and four-angled. The leaves are opposite, 1–5cm long and 0.5–3cm wide, pointed at the tip, elliptical or egg-shaped, without serrations, and green. The flowers bloom in March–April before the leaves, from the leaf axils of the previous year's branches; the corolla is funnel-shaped with four lobes, white or pale pink. The fruit is a single-seeded samara with a slightly concave tip, forming in summer and ripening in autumn. The name 'Abeliophyllum distichum' is said to originate from the shape of this fruit, and its unique shape and beautiful flowers make it a source of pride worldwide. Abeliophyllum distichum was first discovered in 1919 in Yongjeong-ri, Chopyeong-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do. It later became extinct in its original habitat of Jincheon, but native habitats were discovered in Songdeok-ri, Jangyeon-myeon, Goesan-gun in 1955, Chujeom-ri, Jangyeon-myeon in 1965, and Yulji-ri, Chilseong-myeon in 1967, and these three habitats were protected as natural monuments until 1970. Including the native habitat in Maecheon-ri, Yeongdong-eup, Yeongdong-gun, designated as a natural monument on August 2, 1990, and the Abeliophyllum distichum native habitats on the hillsides along Jikso Stream and Baekcheon Stream in the Byeonsan Peninsula of Buan, designated in 1992, a total of five native habitats have been reported.