Previous or Next Tree Page Alphabetically
Botanical Name: Prunus x yedoensis
Common Name: Yoshino Cherry
Origin: Garden Origin
Location: CNW, KN
Notable Feature: Without a doubt this tree’s greatest feature is its snowy white blossoms which are borne in generous clusters, seemingly marching along its bare branches in mid to late April.
Habit: A deciduous tree that typically grows up to 40 feet high with a spreading, broad-rounded, open crown and arching branches. The distinctive, dark reddish brown bark is marked by prominent lenticels (lens-shaped openings that allow air exchange).
Flower: Emerging before the leaves in early spring, the perfect (bisexual) flowers are fragrant, about 1” wide, ranging from white to the palest of pinks, and grow in clusters
of 5 to 6.
Fruit: Small black cherries, ½” in diameter, follow in autumn and are bitter to humans but loved by birds.
Foliage: Deciduous, toothed, dark green leaves are oval in shape and turn a yellow with bronze tints in fall. Foliage is alternate, elliptical, 2 to 4” long, and finely serrated.
Interesting Fact: This hybrid has recently been documented through DNA analysis to have been artificially produced by horticulturists in Japan sometime in the 18th to 19th centuries. Perhaps the most widely planted of flowering cherry trees in Japan today, the Yoshino cherry is one of the predominant cherry trees planted in the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C. The species name refers to the former name of Tokyo: Edo or Yedo.