Cherry blossom
I’ve been able to write this blog so long time, so I try to write a series of my concern. The theme is “natural life forms”. It is including not only the current one but also the ancient one.
As the first issue, because of cherry blossom appreciation season, which is already over a little bit, I write about cherry blossom.
In Japan, many people image “Somei-yoshino” as a cherry blossom. “Somei-yoshino” is a breed variety of Japanese cultivated cherry blossoms, whose mother is “Edo-higan” and father is “Oshima-zakura”. The scientific name is Cerasus × yedoensis (Matsum.) Masam. et Suzuki ‘Somei-yoshino’. It is so long! The reason is “Somei-yoshino” is a cultivated plant by artificial crossing, not a natural plant.
There are 11 species of wild cherry blossom (subg. Cerasus):
Oshima-zakura (Cerasus speciosa, P. lannesiana var. speciosa)
Yama-zakura (Cerasus jamasakura)
Ooyama-zakura (Cerasus sargentii)
Kasumi-zakura (Cerasus laveilleana, P. verecunda)
Edo-higan (Cerasus spachiana, Cerasus itosakura, P. pendula f.ascendens, P. subhirtella var. ascendens)
Mame-zakura (Cerasus incisa)
Takane-zakura (Cerasus nipponica)
Choji-zakura (Cerasus apetala)
Miyama-zakura (Cerasus maximowiczii)
Kumano-zakura (Cerasus kumanoensis)
Kanhi-zakura (Cerasus campanulata)
（Resouce is Wikipedia.）
“Somei-yoshino” is a hybrid of “Oshima-zakura” and “Edo-higan”.
“Somei-yoshino” are not spread by the seeds. They are spread by cottage, so they are clones! Certainly, many garden plants glow from cuttings. Speaking of “Somei-yoshino”, they bust out by warming in spring. The reason is also that they are clone.
However, they are vulnerable to the diseases and the bugs. Because they are planted concentratively in parks, there are high risk of the invasion of them. So, the planting with other breeds was increasing recently. If you go cherry-blossom viewing, try to watch other Sakura-breeds. You may enjoy Sakura more deeply.
