Chinese Plant Mythology

Tree Demon

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology and folklore
Alternate Names: Dryad, Tree Spirit, Tree Monster
Category: Plant

The Myth

It is said that trees which stand for many centuries may gather the energy of heaven and earth, drinking in the light of the sun and the glow of the moon. When this power grows strong enough, the tree awakens into a spirit and leaves its ordinary nature behind.

Ancient writings tell of such beings. Some say that the spirit of a thousand-year-old tree may wander the world in animal form, appearing as a blue ox or a strange green sheep. Others say that once a tree becomes a spirit, its branches, leaves, and flowers carry healing power, able to cure illness or drive away harm.

Not all tree spirits are gentle. Some tales speak of beings that stretch dark hands from trunks or branches, reaching toward human dwellings in hunger. One story tells of a great ginkgo tree that revealed its nature when a hand reached from outside a window, begging for food. When the household tricked it with a firecracker, the tree was blasted apart, revealing the spirit hidden within.

In old romances and strange tales, tree spirits often take human shape. Pine, cypress, bamboo, plum, and apricot were said to appear as wandering immortals or mysterious guests. In other stories, they ruled over ghosts. One powerful tree demon was said to command spirits of the dead, sending them to lure men so that the tree might feed on their life force and strengthen its power.

There are also tales of warrior spirits born from trees. Two such beings, formed from a peach tree and a willow, served in battle and possessed keen sight that allowed them to perceive events far away. Only when their original trees were burned did their power fade and their spirits depart.

Thus the tree demon appears in many forms — healer, wanderer, deceiver, or tyrant. Whether gentle or cruel, all share the same origin: a tree that stood long enough for the world’s hidden breath to awaken something living within it.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 樹妖. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A8%B9%E5%A6%96

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Guā Jīng

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternate Names: Melon Spirit, Melon Essence
Category: Plant

The Myth

In old stories performed on the stage, there is mention of the Guā Jīng, the spirit of a melon that had taken on life and will of its own.

When Liu Zhiyuan and Li Sanniang were separated by hardship and intrigue, enemies plotted against Liu Zhiyuan and sent him into a melon garden. There he was told that a dangerous melon spirit lived among the vines and that he must destroy it.

Liu Zhiyuan went to the garden prepared for battle, expecting a monster to emerge from the plants. But the being he encountered was not what he had been led to believe. The melon spirit revealed itself as a creature transformed by heavenly powers, not a demon seeking harm.

Instead of fighting him, the spirit aided him. It brought armor for his protection and stood beside him in the trials that followed. For ten days it fought in the unseen realms, moving between the world of men and the world below, until at last it departed into the earth.

Before leaving, the Guā Jīng left behind a military book and a sword. With these gifts, Liu Zhiyuan gained the knowledge and strength he needed to face his enemies and continue his path.

Thus the melon spirit was remembered not as a creature of danger, but as one of hidden purpose — a plant transformed by heaven, appearing at a turning point to guide a man toward his destiny.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 瓜精. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%93%9C%E7%B2%BE

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Basho no Sei

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology, Vietnamese Mythology
Alternate Names: Basho Essence, Banana Spirit, Plantain Ghost
Category: Plant

The Myth

In old stories it is said that even plants may awaken into spirits if they endure long enough in the world. Among the most well known of these is the Basho no Sei, the spirit of the bashō, or plantain tree.

When a banana plant grows old and stands for many years, people believed it could gather strange energy from wind, rain, and moonlight. Over time, this energy would give rise to a spirit within the trunk and leaves. At last, the tree might shed its stillness and take on a ghostly life of its own.

Such spirits were said to appear most often in the form of a woman. In Chinese tales, the banana essence sometimes took human shape to approach travelers or householders at night. Some versions say it deceived people with beauty and soft speech, only to bring harm once it had drawn close.

One story tells of a young monk studying late into the night in a quiet temple in Shinshu. As he read, a beautiful woman entered and spoke gently to him, trying to charm him with her presence. The monk sensed something unnatural and grew angry. Grasping a short blade, he struck at her, and she fled into the darkness, leaving a trail of blood.

At dawn, the monk followed the drops of blood into the courtyard. There he found that the temple’s plantain tree had been cut deeply into its trunk, and its sap ran down like the blood he had seen. From this he understood that the visitor of the night had been the spirit of the bashō itself.

Such tales spread across lands and generations, and people came to say that the banana plant, though soft and harmless in appearance, might hide a spirit if it lived long enough. For this reason, groves of old plantains were sometimes regarded with caution, as places where a quiet tree might one day step into the world in human form.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 菟菟鬼. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%AD%E8%95%89%E9%AC%BC

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Shadow Wood

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Gall Wood
Category: Plant

The Myth

Shadow Wood is a mysterious tree said to grow on Yingzhou Island, a distant and sacred place filled with steep mountains and the dwellings of immortals. Among these divine peaks, the tree stands as one of the island’s wonders.

Its leaves shine in an unusual way. When seen beneath the sun, their clustered forms resemble stars scattered across the sky, so that the tree appears as though it holds a fragment of the heavens within its branches.

The Shadow Wood grows slowly, and centuries pass before it offers its gift. Only once in a thousand years does it bear fruit. When it finally ripens, the fruit resembles a melon, with a green skin and dark, black flesh inside. Those fortunate enough to eat it are said to feel their bodies grow light, as if freed from earthly weight, and some claim it brings them closer to the state of immortals.

Because of its strange nature, the tree is also associated with gall wood, the knotted growths that sometimes form on tree roots. These natural swellings were thought to share in the tree’s power, and so the name Shadow Wood came to be used for them as well.

Thus the tree of Yingzhou remained a sign of the immortal realms — a plant whose fruit ripened only once in an age, and whose taste could lift a mortal body toward the heavens.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 影木. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/影木

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Longqi Grass

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Dragon Beard Grass, Jinyun Grass, Dragon Fodder
Category: Plant

The Myth

On Donghai Island, in the waters of the Longju River, there was said to grow a remarkable and powerful grass known as Longqi. The place was already famous in legend as the pasture where King Mu of Zhou once raised his eight extraordinary horses, and it was believed that this grass was the source of their unmatched strength.

Longqi grew among stones and shallow water along the riverbanks and roadsides. Its shoots rose straight from the ground without branches, slender and upright. In summer, small spikes formed at the tips, blooming into flowers that later produced tiny red fruits.

To ordinary eyes it was only a plant, yet its power was known to animals and people alike. Horses that grazed on Longqi became swift beyond measure, able to run thousands of miles in a single day. Because of this, people said that the grass carried the breath of dragons, and an old saying spread: a dragon plant can turn a horse into a dragon foal.

The grass was also valued for its medicinal qualities. It was said to be slightly cold in nature and not poisonous. When used as a remedy, it could drive out harmful forces from the heart, ease troubled urination, cure swelling and sores, and relieve rheumatism. Those who consumed it regularly were believed to grow stronger, their bodies becoming lighter, their sight and hearing sharper, and their lives longer.

Because it could be harvested, tied into bundles, and fed to horses, people also called it Dragon Fodder. Travelers and scholars wrote that wherever water met stone, the grass might be found, quietly growing while carrying the hidden strength of dragons within it.

Thus Longqi was remembered as a humble plant with extraordinary gifts — a grass that could grant speed, health, and long life to those who knew its secret.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 龙剑. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/龙剑

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