わが国の各地をはじめ、朝鮮半島や中国に分布しています。山野に生え、高さは10メートルほどになります。小枝は堅く、しばしば棘に変わります。葉は楕円形で互生しますが、長枝の葉は3〜5裂するものがあります。また若葉の出始めは2つ折りです。4月から6月ごろ、枝先の散形花序に白い花を咲かせます。つぼみの頃は紅色です。花柱はふつう3個、雄しべは多数あります。樹皮からは染料が採れ、その「染(そみ)」が和名の由来です。果実は球形で、9月から10月ごろに橙赤色に熟します。別名には「こりんご(小林檎)」があります。中国語では「三葉海棠(san ye hai tang)」と呼ばれます。
韓国語では「アグベナム(아그배나무)」です。これは果実がとても小さくて「赤ちゃんの梨の木(アギベナム: 아기배나무)」と呼ばれていたのが、時が経つにつれて発音が簡略化され、「アグベナム(아그배나무)」という名前になったそうです。
The "Zumi" (Malus toringo) belongs to Rosaceae (the Rose family). It is a semi-tall decidous tree that is distributed throughout Japan, as well as the Korean Peninsula and China. This tree grows in hills and fields, and can reach about 10 m in height. The twigs are hard and often turn into spines. The leaves are elliptic and alternate, though they sometimes divided into 3-5 lobes. The browses are twofold when come out in foliation. The white flowers bloom in umbels from April to June. The young buds are tinged rose-pink. The flower has three styles and numerous stamens. The bark yields a dye, from which the Japanese name "somi" (dye) is derived. The fruits are pomes and ripen in orange-red from September to October. It is also known as "Ko-ringo". It is called "三葉海棠" (san ye hai tang) in Chinese.
In Korean, it's called "a-gu-bae-na-mu" (아그배나무). This tree was originally called "Baby pear tree" (a-gi-bae-na-mu: 아기배나무), but over time, the pronunciation was simplified, and it came to be known as "a-gu-bae-na-mu" (아그배나무).