Plant
Japanese cherry (sakura)
Prunus serrulata (and related)
Also known as: Prunus serrulata, sakura, ornamental cherry blossom
The ornamental cherry blossoms of Japan — primarily *Prunus serrulata* and its many cultivars (especially the celebrated *Somei Yoshino*). Distinct from the fruit-bearing [[cherry]] species; ornamental cherries are selected for the spring flower display rather than fruit. The hanami (flower-viewing) tradition is one of the most-documented seasonal cultural practices in any human culture; the parallel American National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC (commemorating Japan's 1912 gift of 3,000 trees) is one of the largest cultural-floral events in the United States.
Scientific
The Japanese ornamental cherry blossom tradition draws on multiple Prunus species and many specific cultivars. Principal:
- Prunus serrulata — the Japanese cherry, the species most associated with hanami; many named cultivars including Kanzan and the Yamazakura wild form
- Prunus × yedoensis — the Somei Yoshino, the most-planted ornamental cherry in modern Japan; a sterile hybrid that propagates only by grafting and cuttings. Every Somei Yoshino is genetically identical — a single clone that blooms in synchronized waves across the country
- Prunus jamasakura — the Yamazakura, the original wild Japanese cherry
- Prunus subhirtella and P. mume — early-blooming species
Most ornamental cherries produce small inedible fruits rather than the edible cherries of [[cherry|Prunus avium]] and P. cerasus — selection focused on flower display, not fruit.
Cultural
Hanami — flower viewing — is one of the most-documented seasonal cultural practices on Earth. The Japanese tradition goes back over 1,000 years: aristocratic Heian-court hanami parties are recorded in The Tale of Genji; by the Edo period the practice had spread across all social classes.
The cultural weight of cherry blossoms in Japanese aesthetic and philosophical thought is enormous: mono no aware — the bittersweet awareness of the impermanence of things — is canonically associated with cherry blossoms, which bloom intensely and fall within a week or two. World War II kamikaze pilots were named yamazakura (mountain cherry blossoms); the symbolic charge runs in both peaceful and tragic directions.
The 1912 Japanese gift of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington DC was a diplomatic gesture from Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki to the United States. The trees planted around the Tidal Basin and the National Mall are the foundation of the National Cherry Blossom Festival; over a million visitors attend annually.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[plants]]
- Cousin of: [[cherry]] · [[plum]] · [[peach]] · [[apricot]] · [[almond]] · [[black-cherry]]
Sources
- Wikipedia — Prunus serrulata
- Japan Cherry Blossom Association
A plant entry in the 0mn1.one [[directory]].
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