‘李树’ (lǐ shù) literally combines 李 (lǐ), meaning ‘plum’ or specifically the Chinese plum (Prunus salicina), and 树 (shù), meaning ‘tree’. Together, it refers to the plum tree — a deciduous fruit tree native to China and widely cultivated across East Asia for its edible fruits, ornamental spring blossoms, and cultural significance. Unlike Western plum trees (e.g., Prunus domestica), the Chinese plum tree is valued both for fruit production and as a symbol of resilience and renewal in classical poetry and garden design.

The word is used in agricultural, botanical, and everyday contexts — from describing orchards and backyard gardens to appearing in idioms like ‘桃李满天下’ (peach and plum trees fill the world), metaphorically meaning a teacher’s students are everywhere. It is a concrete, countable noun and typically appears with classifiers like ‘棵’ (kē) when quantified, e.g., ‘一棵李树’ (one plum tree).