Abstract: 【Objective】Flower color is an extremely important ornamental trait of P. mume, and flavonoids are the main pigments in the petals of P. mume. However, there are few systematic studies on the composition of flavonoids, and the relationship between flower color and flavonoids in P. mume. The study on flavonoids can provide reference for the mechanism of flower color formation and the development of flavonoids resources in P. mume.【Method】In this study, the petals of four P. mume cultivars with representative flower color in the blooming stage and the key period of flower color change of two cultivars were selected as materials. It measured the flower color phenotype of petals with the Royal Horticultural Society Color Card (RHSCC) and colorimeter. Flavonoids in those petals of flowers were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS) detectors. Then, Duncan test and OPLS-DA were used to analyze the difference of metabolites among these four cultivars and the major blooming stages. 【Result】In total, 25 flavonoids were described. The main components of  red Baixu Zhusha and purple-red Huqiu Wanfen wereanthocyanins. But the contents of cyanidin and its derivatives between Baixu Zhusha and Huqiu Wanfen were differences. In addition, from the big budding stage to the blooming stage, the red color of Baixu Zhusha gradually became lighter, and the contents of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and peonidin -3-O-glucoside also gradually decreased.Yellow-green Bian Lv’e and pure white Sanlun Yudie were most enriched with quercetin and its derivatives. The contents of quercetin derivatives between Bian Lv’e and Sanlun Yudie were differences. 【Conclusion】The flavonoid metabolic profiles differed among the different colored petal, and flavonoids with medicinal value were distributed in all varieties. The difference in the contents of cyanidin and peonidin may be related to  petal color differences of red P. mume. Quercetin derivatives may affect the color of yellow-green P. mume. In this study, the flavonoids metabolites of different color P. mume were identified and analyzed for the first time, and the differences in flower color P. mume varieties and the blooming process were preliminarily understood from the metabolic level. The results provide a reference for understanding the difference of flower color formation and development of flavonoid resources of P. mume. 

Key words: Prunus , mume,  , flower color,  , flavonoids,  , HPLC-Q-TOF-MS