{{Short description|Blossom of a cherry tree}} {{other uses|Sakura (disambiguation)|Cherry Blossom (disambiguation)}} {{Good article}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} [[File:Sakura and Moss Pink - 桜(さくら)と芝桜(しばざくら).jpg|thumb|Cherry tree in bloom in Yachounomori Garden, Tatebayashi, Gunma, Japan, April 2009]]

The '''cherry blossom''', or '''sakura''', is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit<ref name ="katsuki2015">{{Cite book|first=Toshio |last=Katsuki |date=2015|title=Sakura |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |isbn=978-4-00-431534-6 |language=ja }}</ref>{{Rp|pages=14–18}}<ref>The history and cultural symbolism of both the seven wild species and the hundreds of forms known for centuries as ''sato-zakura'', or garden cherries and information about growing and propagating is found in {{cite web |title=Japanese Flowering Cherries |date=6 March 2015 |first=Wybe |last=Kuitert |publisher=Timber Press |url=http://www.issuu.com/jtvr/docs/japanese_flowering_cherries_by_wybe/1}}</ref> (although these also have blossoms). Cherry blossoms have been described as having a vanilla-like smell, which is mainly attributed to coumarin.

Wild species of cherry tree are widely distributed, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja:FAQ・桜の豆知識 |trans-title=FAQ・Cherry Blossom Trivia |at=日本以外にも桜は自生してるの？ [Are cherry trees native to countries other than Japan?] |url=http://www.hananokai.or.jp/sakura/sakuramihonen-faq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805121525/http://www.hananokai.or.jp/b/b9102.html |archive-date=5 August 2014 |url-status=live |work=The Flower Association of Japan |language=ja |access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="sakuranokai">{{cite web |trans-title=Basic knowledge of cherry blossoms |script-title=ja:さくらの基礎知識 |url=http://www.sakuranokai.or.jp/chishiki/index.html |language=ja |website=JAPAN Cherry Blossom Association |access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Studies on the History of the Flowering Cherry |publisher=Journal of Nanjing Forestry University |date=February 1982 |url=http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-NJLY198202006.htm |language=en |access-date=9 April 2019 |website=en.cnki.com.cn |first=Yao |last=Qingwei |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512095848/http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-NJLY198202006.htm }}</ref> They are common in East Asia, especially in Japan, where they have been cultivated, producing many varieties.<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|pages=40–42, 160–161}}

Most of the ornamental cherry trees planted in parks and other places for viewing are cultivars developed for ornamental purposes from various wild species. In order to create a cultivar suitable for viewing, a wild species with characteristics suitable for viewing is needed. ''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry), which is endemic to Japan, produces many large flowers, is fragrant, easily mutates into double flowers and grows rapidly. As a result, various cultivars, known as the ''Cerasus'' Sato-zakura Group, have been produced since the 14th century and continue to contribute greatly to the development of hanami (flower viewing) culture.<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|pages=27, 89–91}}<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|pages=160–161}} From the modern period, cultivars are mainly propagated by grafting, which quickly produces cherry trees with the same genetic characteristics as the original individuals, and which are excellent to look at.<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|pages=89–91}}

The Japanese word {{nihongo||桜|'''sakura'''|{{IPA|ja|sa.kɯ.ɾa}}<ref>{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典|publisher=NHK Publishing|editor=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date=24 May 2016|language=ja}}</ref>}} can mean either the tree or its flowers (see {{lang|ja|桜}}).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Cambridge Dictionary: English Dictionary |entry=sakura |entry-url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sakura |access-date=2024-01-17 }}</ref> The cherry blossom is considered the national flower of Japan, and is central to the custom of hanami.<ref>{{cite web |title=The beauty and history of sakura, Japan's national flower |url=https://www.tsunagujapan.com/the-beauty-and-history-of-sakura-japans-national-flower/ |website=Tsunagu Japan |date=February 4, 2015 |access-date=6 January 2016 |author=Honoca }}</ref>

Sakura trees are often called '''Japanese cherry''' in English.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Oxford English Dictionary |entry=Japanese cherry (n.) |date=September 2023 | doi=10.1093/OED/5455638245}}</ref> (This is also a common name for ''Prunus serrulata''.)<ref>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2024-01-17}}</ref> The cultivation of ornamental cherry trees began to spread in Europe and the United States in the early 20th century, particularly after Japan presented trees to the United States as a token of friendship in 1912.<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|pages=119–123}} British plant collector Collingwood Ingram conducted important studies of Japanese cherry trees after the First World War.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Forgotten British Collector: Captain Collingwood Ingram (1880-1981) | url=https://www.rosemarybandini.com/articles/captain-collingwood-ingram/ |first=Rosemary |last=Bandini |access-date=17 January 2024 |website=www.rosemarybandini.com }}</ref>

== Classification ==

Classifying cherry trees is often confusing, since they are relatively prone to mutation and have diverse flowers and characteristics, and many varieties (a sub-classification of species), hybrids between species, and cultivars exist. Researchers have assigned different scientific names to the same type of cherry tree throughout different periods.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=32–37}}

In Europe and North America, ornamental cherry trees are classified under the subgenus ''Cerasus'' ("true cherries"), within the genus ''Prunus''. ''Cerasus'' consists of about 100 species of cherry tree, but does not include bush cherries, bird cherries, or cherry laurels (other non-''Cerasus'' species in ''Prunus'' are plums, peaches, apricots, and almonds). ''Cerasus'' was originally named as a genus in 1700 by de Tournefort. In 1753, Linnaeus combined it with several other groupings to form a larger ''Prunus'' genus. ''Cerasus'' was later converted into a section and then a subgenus, this system becoming widely accepted, but some botanists resurrected it as a genus instead.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Sangtae |last2=Wen |first2=Jun |title=A phylogenetic analysis of ''Prunus'' and the Amygdaloideae (Rosaceae) using ITS sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=2001 |volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=150–160 |doi=10.2307/2657135 |jstor=2657135 |pmid=11159135 |bibcode=2001AmJB...88..150L |url=https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/2657135}}</ref> In China and Russia, where there are many more wild cherry species than in Europe, ''Cerasus'' continues to be used as a genus.<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|pages=14–18}}

In Japan, ornamental cherry trees were traditionally classified in the genus ''Prunus'', as in Europe and North America, but after a 1992 paper by Hideaki Ohba of the University of Tokyo, classification in the genus ''Cerasus'' became more common.<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|pages=14–18}} This means that (for example) the scientific name ''Cerasus incisa'' is now used in Japan instead of ''Prunus incisa''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ohba |first=Hideaki |title=Japanese Cherry Trees under the Genus ''Cerasus'' (Rosaceae) |journal=The Journal of Japanese Botany |date=1992 |volume=67 |pages=276–281 |url=https://archive.org/details/journal-japanese-botany-67-276-281}}</ref>

[[File:Prunus speciosa in the Jardin des Plantes 002.jpg|thumb|''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry), a species of cherry tree that has given rise to many cultivars<ref name="ojfc">{{Cite journal |last1=Kato |first1=Shuri |last2=Matsumoto |first2=Asako |last3=Yoshimura |first3=Kensuke |last4=Katsuki |first4=Toshio |last5=Iwamoto |first5=Kojiro |last6=Kawahara |first6=Takayuki |last7=Mukai |first7=Yuzuru |last8=Tsuda |first8=Yoshiaki |last9=Ishio |first9=Shogo |last10=Nakamura |first10=Kentaro |last11=Moriwaki |first11=Kazuo |last12=Shiroishi |first12=Toshihiko |last13=Gojobori |first13=Takashi |last14=Yoshimaru |first14=Hiroshi |date=30 January 2014 |title=Origins of Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) cultivars revealed using nuclear SSR markers |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11295-014-0697-1 |journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=477–487 |doi=10.1007/s11295-014-0697-1 |s2cid=255127026 |issn=1614-2942|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="ojfcffrri">{{cite web |date=June 16, 2014 |script-title=ja:DNAからわかったサクラ品種の真実 ―そのほとんどは雑種が起源― |language=ja |trans-title=Origins of Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) cultivars revealed using nuclear SSR markers |url=https://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/research/saizensen/2014/20140616-01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309150440/https://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/research/saizensen/2014/20140616-01.html |archive-date=9 March 2019 |access-date=February 27, 2021 |work=Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute}}</ref>]]

A culture of plum blossom viewing has existed in mainland China since ancient times, and although cherry trees have many wild species, most of them had small flowers, and the distribution of wild cherry trees with large flowers suitable for cherry blossom viewing was limited.<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|160–161}} In Europe and North America, there were few cherry species with characteristics suitable for cherry blossom viewing.<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|122}} In Japan, on the other hand, the ''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry) and ''Prunus jamasakura'' (Yamazakura), which have large flowers suitable for cherry blossom viewing and tend to grow into large trees, were distributed over a fairly large area of the country and were close to people's living areas. The development of cherry blossom viewing, and the production of cultivars, is therefore considered to have taken place primarily in Japan.<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|160–161}}

[[File:カンザン全体.jpg|thumb|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Kanzan' or 'Sekiyama', one of the most popular cherry tree cultivars in Europe and North America, selected for the British Award of Garden Merit<ref name="katsuki2018">{{Cite book|first=Toshio |last=Katsuki |date=2018 |title=Sakura no Kagaku |trans-title=Science of Cherry Blossoms| publisher=SB Creative |isbn=978-4-7973-8931-9 |language=ja }}</ref>{{Rp|pages=40–42}}]]

Because cherry trees have mutable traits, many cultivars have been created for cherry blossom viewing, especially in Japan. Since the Heian period, the Japanese have produced cultivars by selecting superior or mutant trees from among the natural crossings of wild cherry trees. They were also produced by crossing trees artificially and then breeding them by grafting and cutting. Oshima, Yamazakura, ''Prunus pendula'' f. ''ascendens'' (syn, ''Prunus itosakura'', Edo higan), and other varieties which grow naturally in Japan, mutate easily. The Oshima cherry, which is an endemic species in Japan, tends to mutate into a double-flowered tree, grows quickly, has many large flowers, and has a strong fragrance. Due to these favorable characteristics, the Oshima cherry has been used as a base for many Sakura cultivars (called the Sato-zakura Group). Two such cultivars are the Yoshino cherry and Kanzan; Yoshino cherries are actively planted in Asian countries, and Kanzan is actively planted in Western countries.<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=86–95, 106, 166–168}}<ref name="ojfc" /><ref name="ojfcffrri" /><ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|pages=40–42}}

== ''Hanami'': Flower viewing in Japan ==

{{Main|Hanami}}

[[File:Cherry-Blossom-Utagawa-Hiroshige-36-Views-of-Mount Fuji-Series-7.jpg|thumb|Woodblock print of Mount Fuji and cherry blossom from ''Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'' by Hiroshige. 1858.]]

{{transliteration|ja|Hanami}} is the many centuries-old practice of holding feasts or parties under blooming sakura ({{lang|ja|桜}} or {{lang|ja|櫻}}; {{lang|ja|さくら}} or {{lang|ja|サクラ}}) or {{transliteration|ja|ume}} ({{lang|ja|梅}}; {{lang|ja|うめ}}) trees. During the Nara period (710–794), when the custom is said to have begun, it was {{transliteration|ja|ume}} blossoms that people admired. By the Heian period (794–1185), however, cherry blossoms were attracting more attention, and {{transliteration|ja|'hanami'}} was synonymous with {{transliteration|ja|'sakura'}}.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHf8lxLOYsUC&q=Hanami+nara&pg=PA12|page=12|title=Mizue Sawano: The Art of the Cherry Tree |author= Brooklyn Botanic Garden |publisher= Brooklyn Botanic Garden|year= 2006 |isbn= 978-1-889538-25-9}}</ref> From then on, in both {{transliteration|ja|waka}} and haiku, {{nihongo|"flowers"|花|hana}} meant "cherry blossoms," as implied by one of Izumi Shikibu's poems.<ref name="Citko-DuPlantis">{{Cite web |last=Citko-DuPlantis |first=Małgorzata (Gosia) K. |date=2024-03-07 |title=Cherry blossoms – celebrated in Japan for centuries and gifted to Americans – are an appreciation of impermanence and spring |url=http://theconversation.com/cherry-blossoms-celebrated-in-japan-for-centuries-and-gifted-to-americans-are-an-appreciation-of-impermanence-and-spring-224610 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the {{transliteration|ja|sakura}} trees, people held cheerful feasts where they ate, and drank sake.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=2–7, 156–160}}

Since a book written in the Heian period mentions {{nihongo|"weeping cherry"|しだり櫻; 糸櫻}}, one of the cultivars with pendulous branches, ''Prunus itosakura'' 'Pendula' (Sidare-zakura) is considered the oldest cultivar in Japan. In the Kamakura period, when the population increased in the southern Kantō region, the Oshima cherry, which originated in Izu Oshima Island, was brought to Honshu and cultivated there; it then made its way to the capital, Kyoto. The Sato-zakura Group first appeared during the Muromachi period.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>

''Prunus itosakura'' (syn. ''Prunus subhirtella'', Edo higan) is a wild species that grows slowly. However, it has the longest life span among cherry trees and is easy to grow into large trees. For this reason, there are many large, old specimens of this species in Japan. They are often regarded as sacred and have become landmarks that symbolize Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and local areas. For example, ''{{ill|Jindai-zakura|ja|神代桜}},'' which is around 2,000 years old, ''{{ill|Usuzumi-zakura|ja|淡墨桜}},'' which is around 1,500 years old, and ''{{ill|Daigo-zakura|ja|醍醐桜}},'' which is around 1,000 years old, are famous for their age.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|178–182}}

[[File:Hokuto Yamanashi Yamatakajindaizakura 1.JPG|thumb|''{{ill|Jindai-zakura|ja|神代桜}}'', a 2,000-year-old ''Prunus itosakura''<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|178–182}}|left]] In the Edo period, various double-flowered cultivars were produced and planted on the banks of rivers, in Buddhist temples, in Shinto shrines, and in daimyo gardens in urban areas such as Edo; the common people living in urban areas could enjoy them. Books from the period record more than 200 varieties of cherry blossoms and mention many varieties that are currently known, such as 'Kanzan'. However, this situation was limited to urban areas, and the main objects of hanami across the country were still wild species such as ''Prunus jamasakura'' (Yamazakura) and Oshima cherry.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>

Since Japan was modernized in the Meiji period, the Yoshino cherry has spread throughout Japan, and it has become the main object of hanami.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=2–7, 156–160}} Various other cultivars were cut down one after another during changes related to the rapid modernization of cities, such as the reclamation of waterways and the demolition of daimyo gardens. The gardener Takagi Magoemon and the village mayor of Kohoku Village, Shimizu Kengo, were concerned about this situation and preserved a few by planting a row of cherry trees, of various cultivars, along the Arakawa River bank. In Kyoto, Sano Toemon XIV, a gardener, collected various cultivars and propagated them. After World War II, these cultivars were inherited by the National Institute of Genetics, Tama Forest Science Garden and the Flower Association of Japan, and from the 1960s onwards were again used for hanami.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=115–119}}

thumb|''Prunus'' 'Jindai Akebono' [[File:Prunus 'Yoko' いまい台の陽光桜並木2.jpg|thumb|''Prunus'' 'Yoko']] Since the beginning of the 21st century, the situation surrounding cherry blossom viewing in Japan has changed significantly. An invasive longhorn beetle, ''Aromia bungii'', which is not native to Japan, is believed to have arrived in wooden packing materials used in international cargo, and was first confirmed in the country in 2012. This species has rapidly expanded its range across Japan, and its feeding damage has had devastating effects on cherry trees, forcing the removal of large branches or even the complete felling of many trees.<ref name="ctv240326">{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/d52f7c7964b013b397820af643f1f75a9dd82e3b?page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260330143307/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/d52f7c7964b013b397820af643f1f75a9dd82e3b?page=1|script-title=ja:“町の桜”で進む老木化問題 今年の満開終われば伐採も…“次世代”の桜「ジンダイアケボノ」に注目|language=ja|publisher=Yahoo Japan News|date=24 March 2026|archive-date=30 March 2026|access-date=30 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="kt190326">{{cite web|url=https://www.ktv.jp/news/feature/260318-sakura/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260330132015/https://www.ktv.jp/news/feature/260318-sakura/|script-title=ja:ソメイヨシノに危機 伝染病などの被害で各地で伐採 次世代の桜に世代交代する動きも|language=ja|publisher=Kansai Television|date=19 March 2026|archive-date=30 March 2026|access-date=30 March 2026}}</ref>

At the same time, the most popular cherry cultivar, Yoshino cherry, is increasingly being replaced for a variety of reasons. This cultivar is particularly susceptible to Witch's broom disease, and the Japan Flower Association had already ceased its distribution and sale by 2009. In addition, because it grows quickly into a large tree with a wide, spreading crown and extensive root system, it can damage surrounding pavement, extend branches into neighboring properties, and is generally unsuitable as a street tree in narrow urban spaces. Poor maintenance and aging have also led to reduced flowering in many trees, along with an increased risk of falling dead branches. As a result, there has been a growing trend to replace Yoshino cherry with 'Jindai-akebono', a cultivar originating from Jindai Botanical Garden, which has a similar flower shape, size, and overall tree form, but is more resistant to disease, remains smaller, and bears slightly deeper pink flowers.<ref name="ctv240326"/><ref name="kt190326"/> Another cultivar, 'Yoko', developed in Ehime Prefecture in 1981, is also spreading relatively quickly throughout Japan as an alternative. It is characterized by large, deep pink flowers and early blooming, features that clearly distinguish it from Yoshino cherry.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=221}}

Every year, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the public track the {{nihongo3|"cherry blossom front"||sakura zensen}} as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather, via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs.<ref name="method">{{cite web |script-title=ja:新しいサクラの開花予想 |trans-title=Forecast of new cherry blossom blooms |date=December 1996 |url=http://www.data.jma.go.jp/sakura/data/cb/kaisetu24sakura.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106160101/http://www.data.jma.go.jp/sakura/data/cb/kaisetu24sakura.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2013 |language=ja |access-date=1 March 2012 |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Akasegawa |first=Genpei |url=http://www.ktv.co.jp/hanami/2005/daily/050420.html |title=Sennin no sakura, zokujin no sakura: Nippon kaibo kiko |publisher=JTB Nihon Kotsu Kosha Shuppan Jigyokyoku |year=2000 |isbn=978-4-533-01983-8 |location=Osaka Seikei University, Kyoto, Japan |language=ja |quote=As cherry blossom front comes up, the whole Japan goes into a war; we just can't sit home and let it go. |author-link=Genpei Akasegawa |access-date=2010-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428002853/http://www.ktv.co.jp/hanami/2005/daily/050420.html |archive-date=2007-04-28 }}</ref> Since 2009, tracking of the ''sakura zensen'' has been largely taken over by private forecasting companies, with the JMA switching to focus only on data collection that than forecasting.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Ha |first=Thu-huong |date=March 23, 2023 |title=In Japan, cherry blossom forecasting is a big deal. Warming is making it harder. |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/23/national/cherry-blossom-forecasting/ |website=The Japan Times}}</ref> The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the beginning of April, though recent years have trended towards earlier flowerings near the end of March.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 March 2021 |title=Japan's cherry blossom 'earliest peak since 812' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56574142 |website=BBC}}</ref> It proceeds northward and into areas of higher altitude, arriving in Hokkaido a few weeks later. Japanese locals, in addition to overseas tourists, pay close attention to these forecasts.<ref name=":4" />

Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees planted outside of them. Since the fiscal and school years both begin in April, in many parts of Honshu the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season. However, while most cherry blossom trees bloom in the spring, there are also lesser-known winter cherry blossoms (''fuyuzakura'' in Japanese) that bloom between October and December.<ref>{{cite web |title=5 Places to See Japan's (Very Real) Winter Cherry Blossoms |url=https://travel.gaijinpot.com/japan-sightseeing-essentials/cherry-blossoms-japan/winter-cherry-blossoms-in-japan/ |website=GaijinPot Travel |date=12 December 2018 |publisher=Gaijin Pot |access-date=28 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

The Japan Cherry Blossom Association has published a list of Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots ({{lang|ja|{{ill|日本さくら名所100選|ja}}}}),<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots – GoJapanGo (English language version of list)|url=http://www.gojapango.com/travel/japans_top_100_cherry_blossom_spots.htm|work=Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots – GoJapanGo|publisher=Mi Marketing Pty Ltd|access-date=9 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515132206/http://www.gojapango.com/travel/japans_top_100_cherry_blossom_spots.htm|archive-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> with at least one location in every prefecture.

== Blooming season ==

[[File:Yoshino cherry ソメイヨシノ 3.jpg|thumb|Yoshino cherry, a cultivar propagated through grafting, consistently reaches full bloom simultaneously between individuals if under the same environmental conditions.]]

Many cherry species and cultivars bloom between March and April in the Northern Hemisphere. Wild cherry trees, even if they are the same species, differ genetically from one individual to another. Even if they are planted in the same area, there is some variation in the time when they reach full bloom. In contrast, cultivars are clones propagated by grafting or cutting, so each tree of the same cultivar planted in the same area will come into full bloom all at once due to their genetic similarity.<ref name="Kays2011">{{cite book |first=Stanley J. |last=Kays |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pBMcf6wyj0C&pg=PA15 |title=Cultivated vegetables of the world: a multilingual onomasticon |date=3 October 2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-90-8686-720-2 |pages=15–}}</ref>

Some wild species, such as Edo higan and the cultivars developed from them, are in full bloom before the leaves open. Yoshino cherry became popular for cherry-blossom viewing because of these characteristics of simultaneous flowering and blooming before the leaves open; it also bears many flowers and grows into a large tree. Many cultivars of the Sato-zakura group, which were developed from complex interspecific hybrids based on Oshima cherry, are often used for ornamental purposes. They generally reach full bloom a few days to two weeks after Yoshino cherry does.<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|40–56}}

=== Impacts of climate change === The flowering time of cherry trees is thought to be affected by global warming and the heat island effect of urbanization. According to the record of full bloom dates of ''Prunus jamasakura'' (Yamazakura) in Kyoto, Japan, which has been recorded for about 1200 years, the time of full bloom was relatively stable from 812 to the 1800s. After that, the time of full color rapidly became earlier, and in 2021, the earliest full bloom date in 1200 years was recorded. The average peak bloom day in the 1850s was around April 17, but by the 2020s, it was April 5; the average temperature rose by about {{cvt|3.4|C-change}} during this time. According to the record of full bloom dates of the Yoshino cherry in the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., the bloom date was April 5 in 1921, but it was March 31 in 2021. These records are consistent with the history of rapid increases in global mean temperature since the mid-1800s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/29/japan-kyoto-cherry-blossoms-record/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403174521if_/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/29/japan-kyoto-cherry-blossoms-record/ |archive-date=2021-04-03 |title=Japan's Kyoto cherry blossoms peak on the earliest date in 1,200 years, a sign of climate change |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 30, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403110917/http://atmenv.envi.osakafu-u.ac.jp/aono/kyophenotemp4/ |archive-date=April 3, 2021 |url=http://atmenv.envi.osakafu-u.ac.jp/aono/kyophenotemp4/ |language=en |date=October 1, 2015 |title= Cherry blossom phenology and temperature reconstructions at Kyoto |first=Yasuyuki |last=Aono |publisher=Osaka Prefecture University}}</ref>

Japanese cherry trees grown in the Southern Hemisphere bloom at a different time of the year. For example, in Australia, while the trees in the Cowra Japanese Garden bloom in late September to mid-October, the Sydney cherry blossom festival is in late August.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sakura Matsuri - Cherry Blossom Festival|url=https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/cowra-area/cowra/events/sakura-matsuri-cherry-blossom-festival |access-date=2024-01-14|website=www.visitnsw.com|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Maya |last=Skidmore |date=14 July 2023 |title=Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival|url=https://www.timeout.com/sydney/things-to-do/sydney-cherry-blossom-festival|access-date=2024-01-14 |website=Time Out|language=en}}</ref>

There's an escalating concern of climate change as it poses a threat to sakura cultivars, given that they are highly susceptible to shifts in temperature and weather fluctuations. The changes, driven by climate change including warmer temperatures earlier in the springtime, may disrupt the timing of their blooms and potentially lead to reduced flowering and impact cultural significance.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2024-03-18 |title=Cherry Blossoms Are Coming Earlier Because of Climate Change |url=https://time.com/6957844/cherry-blossoms-climate-change-peak-bloom-shift/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref>

In 2023, in China that cherry blossoms have been observed to reach peak bloom weeks earlier than previously, a few decades ago. Similarly, data from Kyoto, Japan, and Washington, D.C., United States, also indicated that blooming periods are occurring earlier in those locations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2023 |title=In China, Climate Change Disrupts a Beloved Tradition: Cherry Blossom Season |url=https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1012557 |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=#SixthTone}}</ref>

Although precise forecasting is generally challenging, AI predictions from Japan Meteorological Agency, have suggested that without substantial efforts to rein in climate change, the Somei-Yoshino cherry tree variety could face significant challenges and even the risk of disappearing entirely from certain parts of Japan, including Miyazaki, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima prefectures in the Kyushu region by 2100.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-25 |title=Japan's most famous cherry blossom trees could disappear due to climate change |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/japans-most-famous-cherry-blossom-170908475.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-AU}}</ref>

== Symbolism in Japan ==

[[File:100JPY.JPG|thumb|A 100 yen coin depicting cherry blossoms]]

Cherry blossoms are a frequent topic in ''waka'' composition, where they commonly symbolize impermanence.<ref name="Citko-DuPlantis"/> Due to their characteristic of blooming ''{{lang|Fr|en masse}}'', cherry blossoms are considered an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life.<ref name=khoon>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77ZqNbU_Y74C |last=Choy Lee |first=Khoon |date=1995 |title=Japan—between Myth and Reality |page= 142 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-02-1865-2}}</ref> Cherry blossoms frequently appear in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as stage set designs for musical performances. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled "Sakura", in addition to several later pop songs bearing the name. The flower is also used on all manner of historical and contemporary consumer goods, including kimonos,<ref>{{Citation |title=Court Lady's Garment (Kosode) with Swallows and Bells on Blossoming Cherry Tree |date=1868–1912 |work=Asian Art at The Met |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/648202?pkgids=761}}</ref> stationery,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/cherry-blossoms/cherry-blossoms-in-japanese-cultural-history |access-date=17 January 2024 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref> and dishware.<ref>{{Citation |title=Large Dish with Cherry Blossoms |date=1690–1720s |work=Asian Art at The Met |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/52281}}</ref>

=== ''Mono no aware'' === The traditional symbolism of cherry blossoms as a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life is associated with the influence of Shinto,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Young |first1=John |last2=Nakajima-Okano |first2=Kimiko |date=1985 |title=Learn Japanese: New College Text |page= 268 |isbn=978-0-8248-0951-5 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press}}</ref> embodied in the concept of {{nihongo||物の哀れ|''mono no aware''}}{{efn|Historical kana orthography: {{lang|ja|もののあはれ}}, modern kana: {{lang|ja|もののあわれ}}. The old kana form remains preferred in modern usage.}} (the pathos of things).<ref name="Slaymaker">{{cite book|last=Slaymaker |first=Douglas |date=2004 |title=The Body in Postwar Japanese Fiction |page= 122 |isbn=978-1-134-35403-0 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> The connection between cherry blossoms and ''mono no aware'' dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga.<ref name="Slaymaker" /> The transience of the blossoms, their beauty, and their volatility have often been associated with mortality<ref name="khoon" /> and the graceful and ready acceptance of destiny and karma.

=== Nationalism and militarism === The ''Sakurakai,'' or Cherry Blossom Society, was the name chosen by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930 for their secret society established to reorganize the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état if necessary.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McClain |first=James L. |title=Japan: A Modern History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=obYhbzN-dY0C |date=2002 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |page= 414 |isbn=0-393-04156-5}}</ref>

During World War II, cherry blossoms were used as a symbol to motivate the Japanese people and stoke nationalism and militarism.<ref name="ohnuki">{{Cite book|author-link=Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney |first=Emiko |last=Ohnuki-Tierney |title=Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms |date=2002 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/K/bo3656741.html}}</ref>{{rp|9–10}} The Japanese proverb ''hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi'' ("the best blossom is the cherry blossom, the best man is a warrior") was evoked in the Imperial Japanese Army as a motivation during the war.<ref>{{cite book | author= Bruce Gamble| title =Invasion Rabaul: The Epic Story of Lark Force, the Forgotten Garrison, January - July 1942| publisher =Zenith Press| year =2014| pages =73–74| isbn =978-0-7603-4591-7}}</ref> Even before the war, cherry blossoms were used in propaganda to inspire the "Japanese spirit", as in the "Song of Young Japan", exulting in "warriors" who were "ready like the myriad cherry blossoms to scatter".<ref>{{Cite book|author-link=Piers Brendon |first=Piers |last=Brendon |title=The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s |date=2000 |page= 441 |isbn=0-375-40881-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dBmAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Johnathan Cape}}</ref> In 1894, Sasaki Nobutsuna composed a poem, ''[https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/873478/1/10 Shina seibatsu no uta]'' (The Song of the Conquest of the Chinese) to coincide with the First Sino-Japanese War. The poem compares falling cherry blossoms to the sacrifice of Japanese soldiers who fall in battles for their country and emperor.<ref name="Citko-DuPlantis"/><ref name="ohnuki"/> In 1932, Akiko Yosano's poetry urged Japanese soldiers to endure suffering in China and compared the dead soldiers to cherry blossoms.{{sfn|McClain|2002|p=427}} Arguments that the plans for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, involving all Japanese ships, would expose Japan to danger if they failed were countered with the plea that the Navy be permitted to "bloom as flowers of death".<ref>{{Cite book|author-link=John Toland (author) |first=John |last=Toland |title=The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936–1945 |page= 539 |publisher=Random House New York |date=1970}}</ref> The last message of the forces on Peleliu was "Sakura, Sakura".<ref>{{cite book|first1=Meirion |last1=Harries |first2=Susie |last2=Harries |title=Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army |date=1991 |page= 424 |publisher=Random House |isbn=0-394-56935-0}}</ref> Japanese pilots would paint sakura flowers on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions.<ref name=ohnuki /> A cherry blossom painted on the side of a bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality of life;<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Kerri Sakamoto |last=Sakamoto |first=Kerri |title=One Hundred Million Hearts |publisher=Vintage Book |date=2004 |isbn=0-676-97512-7}}.</ref> in this way, falling cherry petals came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor.<ref name=ohnuki /><ref name="Morris">{{cite book| first=Ivan |last=Morris |author-link=Ivan Morris |title=The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan |page=290 |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |date= 1975}}</ref> The first kamikaze unit had a subunit called ''Yamazakura'', or wild cherry blossom.<ref name=Morris /> The Japanese government encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms.<ref name=ohnuki />

=== Artistic and popular uses === [[File:Summer Nations Series '23- Italia vs Giappone-45 (53148622315).jpg|thumb|The Japan national rugby union team is nicknamed the "Brave Blossoms", and have sakura embroidered on their chests.<ref name="rugbygm"/>]] Cherry blossoms have been used symbolically in Japanese sports; the Japan national rugby union team has used the flower as an emblem on its uniforms since the team's first international matches in the 1930s, depicted as a "bud, half-open and full-bloomed".<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja:ラグビー日本代表 初代ジャージー発見、京都で展示へ |trans-title=Japan Rugby National Team's first jersey discovered, to be exhibited in Kyoto |url=https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2019/08/17/kiji/20190817s00044000058000c.html |website=スポニチ Sponichi Annex |language=ja |date=August 17, 2019}}</ref> The team is known as the "Brave Blossoms" ({{lang|ja|ブレイブ・ブロッサムズ}}), and has had their current logo since 1952.<ref name="rugbygm">{{Cite web |last=Shimbun |first=Kyoto |title="Rugby Grandma": Designer behind Japan team's cherry blossom emblem |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/09/bc34ccc8fff4-rugby-grandma-designer-behind-japan-teams-cherry-blossom-emblem.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Kyodo News+}}</ref> The cherry blossom is also seen in the logo of the Japan Cricket Association<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enewspolar.com/womens-t20-cricket-nepal-ends-in-third-position/ |website=Newspolar |language=en |title=Women's T20 Cricket: Nepal ends in third position |date=19 November 2023}}</ref> and the Japan national American football team.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americanfootball.jp/japan/ |language=ja |script-title=ja:アメリカンフットボール日本代表オフィシャルサイト |trans-title=Official site of the Japanese American Football National Team |access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sf20110227a1.html |title=Japan trounces South Korea, qualifies for IFAF World Championship &#124; the Japan Times Online |access-date=2011-03-25 |archive-date=2011-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302083904/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sf20110227a1.html |website=The Japan Times |date=27 February 2011}}</ref>

Cherry blossoms are a prevalent symbol in ''irezumi'', the traditional art of Japanese tattoos. In this art form, cherry blossoms are often combined with other classic Japanese symbols like koi fish, dragons, or tigers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freetattoodesigns.org/cherry-blossom-tattoo.html#sakura |title=Cherry Blossom Tattoo Designs |publisher=Freetattoodesigns.org |access-date=2013-06-14 |archive-date=22 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622220241/http://www.freetattoodesigns.org/cherry-blossom-tattoo.html#sakura }}</ref>

The cherry blossom remains symbolic today. It was used for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics mascot, Someity.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |date=22 July 2018 |title=Olympic mascots Miraitowa and Someity invoke the future and cherry trees for 2020 Games |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/22/national/tokyo-games-organizers-introduce-mascots-miraitowa-someity-world/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722073052/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/22/national/tokyo-games-organizers-introduce-mascots-miraitowa-someity-world/ |archive-date=22 July 2018 |access-date=22 July 2018 |work=The Japan Times |agency=AFP-JIJI}}</ref> It is also a common way to indicate the start of spring, such as in the ''Animal Crossing'' series of video games, where many of the game's trees are flowering cherries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diller |first=Nathan |date=6 April 2020 |title=Locals Are Getting Their Cherry Blossom Fix In Animal Crossing |url=https://dcist.com/story/20/04/06/locals-are-getting-their-cherry-blossom-fix-in-animal-crossing/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=DCist |language=en |archive-date=15 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115180039/https://dcist.com/story/20/04/06/locals-are-getting-their-cherry-blossom-fix-in-animal-crossing/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Cultivars == [[File:Miharu Miharu-Takizakura Front 1.jpg|thumb|"Miharu Takizakura", a tree of species ''Prunus itosakura'' that is over 1,000 years old<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2012 |title=Visitors return to renowned cherry tree in Fukushima |url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201204260009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426175204/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/recovery/AJ201204260009 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Asahi Shimbun}}</ref>]] [[File:Omoigawa, Hakuoh University.jpg|thumb|{{ill|lt=''Prunus'' × ''subhirtella'' 'Omoigawa'|Prunus × subhirtella 'Omoigawa'|ja|オモイガワ}}, a cultivar produced in Oyama City in 1954<ref name="oyama1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.city.oyama.tochigi.jp/soshiki/3/1559.html |script-title=ja:小山市の花、木、鳥 |trans-title=Flowers, trees, and birds of Oyama City |publisher=Oyama City |access-date=7 March 2021 |language=ja}}</ref>]]

Japan has a wide diversity of cherry trees, including hundreds of cultivars.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Brandow Samuels |first1=Gayle |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WovVBjvQG1wC |title=Enduring Roots: Encounters with Trees, History, and the American Landscape |publisher=Rutgers University Press |date=January 3, 2005|isbn=978-0-8135-3539-5 }}</ref> By one classification method, there are more than 600 cultivars in Japan,<ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926115307/https://sakura.hibiyakadan.com/page.jsp?id=14549347 |url=https://sakura.hibiyakadan.com/page.jsp?id=14549347 |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |trans-title=Introduction! Varieties of cherry blossom |script-title=ja:紹介！桜の品種 |language=ja |website= Hibiya-Kadan }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:花のコーナー |trans-title=Flower Corner |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212031148/http://www.kita-ryokka.or.jp/index.php?%E8%8A%B1%E3%81%AE%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%80%802016%E5%B9%B404%E6%9C%88 |url=http://www.kita-ryokka.or.jp/index.php?%E8%8A%B1%E3%81%AE%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%80%802016%E5%B9%B404%E6%9C%88 |archive-date=February 12, 2019 |website=General Incorporated Association Kitakyushu Ryokka Kyokai|date=April 2016}}</ref> while the Tokyo Shimbun claims that there are 800.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/168395|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328231414/https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/168395|script-title=ja:白の輝き 新種のしだれ桜 茨城の「博士」が上野で発見|language=ja|publisher=Tokyo Shimbun|date=29 March 2022|archive-date=28 March 2022|access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref> According to the results of DNA analysis of 215 cultivars carried out by Japan's Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in 2014, many of the cultivars that have spread around the world are hybrids produced by crossing Oshima cherry and ''Prunus jamasakura'' (Yamazakura) with various wild species.<ref name ="ojfc"/><ref name ="ojfcffrri"/> Among these cultivars, the Sato-zakura Group and many other cultivars have a large number of petals, and the representative cultivar is ''Prunus serrulata'' 'Kanzan'.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|137}}

The following species, hybrids, and varieties are used for ''Sakura'' cultivars:<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja:サクラ栽培品種の分類体系の再編とデータベース化 |trans-title=Reorganization and database creation of classification system for cherry blossom cultivars |date=2013 |url=http://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/pubs/seikasenshu/2013/documents/p58-59.pdf |pages=58–59 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|trans-title=The observation of flowering dates in the Cherry Preservation Forest at the Tama Forest Science Garden over a 30 year period |script-title=ja:多摩森林科学園サクラ保存林における30年間のサクラの開花期観測 |url=http://agriknowledge.affrc.go.jp/RN/2010813972.pdf |journal=Bulletin of FFPRI |first1=Toshio |first2=Kojiro |first3=Yukio |last1=Katsuki |last2=Iwamoto |last3=Ishii |volume=10 |issue=l |pages=7–48 |date=March 2011 |language=ja}}</ref>

* ''Prunus apetala (Clove Cherry)<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Kato |first1=Shuri |last2=Matsumoto |first2=Asako |last3=Yoshimura |first3=Kensuke |last4=Katsuki |first4=Toshio |last5=Iwamoto |first5=Kojiro |last6=Tsuda |first6=Yoshiaki |last7=Ishio |first7=Shogo |last8=Nakamura |first8=Kentaro |last9=Moriwaki |first9=Kazuo |last10=Shiroishi |first10=Toshihiko |last11=Gojobori |first11=Takashi |last12=Yoshimaru |first12=Hiroshi |year=2012 |title=Clone identification in Japanese flowering cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Cerasus'') cultivars using nuclear SSR markers |journal=Breeding Science |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=248–255 |doi=10.1270/jsbbs.62.248 |pmc=3501942 |pmid=23226085|bibcode=2012BrSci..62..248K }}</ref>'' * ''Prunus campanulata<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last1=Kato |first1=Shuri |last2=Matsumoto |first2=Asako |last3=Yoshimura |first3=Kensuke |last4=Katsuki |first4=Toshio |last5=Iwamoto |first5=Kojiro |last6=Kawahara |first6=Takayuki |last7=Mukai |first7=Yuzuru |last8=Tsuda |first8=Yoshiaki |last9=Ishio |first9=Shogo |last10=Nakamura |first10=Kentaro |last11=Moriwaki |first11=Kazuo |last12=Shiroishi |first12=Toshihiko |last13=Gojobori |first13=Takashi |last14=Yoshimaru |first14=Hiroshi |year=2014 |title=Origins of Japanese flowering cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Cerasus'') cultivars revealed using nuclear SSR markers |url=https://link.springer.com/content/esm/art:10.1007/s11295-014-0697-1/file/MediaObjects/11295_2014_697_MOESM5_ESM.pdf |journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=477–487 |doi=10.1007/s11295-014-0697-1 |s2cid=18606833 |access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref><ref name=":2" />''<ref name=":1">{{cite book |url=http://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/pubs/chukiseika/documents/3rd-chuukiseika5.pdf |title= |publisher=Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Tama Forest Science Garden |isbn=978-4-905304-19-7 |language=ja |script-title=ja:桜の新しい系統保全 ―形質・遺伝子・病害研究に基づく取組― |trans-title=Conservation of new lines of cherry blossoms - Efforts based on traits, genes, and disease research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708171655/http://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/pubs/chukiseika/documents/3rd-chuukiseika5.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2014}}</ref> * ''Prunus × furuseana'' (''P. incisa'' × ''P. jamasakura''<ref name = "katsuki201796">{{Cite web|first=Toshio |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |last=Katsuki |date=2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301110856/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/treeforesthealth/21/2/21_93/_pdf |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/treeforesthealth/21/2/21_93/_pdf |trans-title=Classification and morphological identification of cherry trees |script-title=ja:サクラの分類と形態による同定 |language=ja |pages=96–97}}</ref>) * ''Prunus × incam<ref>{{cite web |last=Brand |first=Mark H. |title=Prunus × incam: Okame Flowering Cherry |url=http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/detail.php?pid=358 |work=University of Connecticut Plant Database}}</ref>'' (''P. incisa'' × ''P. campanulata<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Olsen |first1=Richard T. |last2=Whittemore |first2=Alan T. |date=December 2009 |title=Validation of the Hybrid Flowering Cherry ''Prunus × incam'' (Rosaceae) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/121956 |journal=Novon |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=490–493 |doi=10.3417/2007177 |jstor=27765203 |bibcode=2009Novon..19..490O |s2cid=86536702}}</ref>'') * ''Prunus incisa'' var. ''incisa<ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus incisa'' var. ''kinkiensis<ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus × introrsa<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus itosakura''<ref name="ojfc" /> (''Prunus subhirtella'', ''Prunus pendula'') * ''Prunus jamasakura''<ref name=":2" /> * ''Prunus × kanzakura<ref name=":5" />'' (''P. campanulata'' × ''P. jamasakura'' and ''P. campanulata'' × ''P. speciosa''<ref name = "katsuki201796"/>) * ''Prunus leveilleana''<ref name="usda">{{GRIN}}</ref> (''Prunus verecunda'') * ''Prunus × miyoshii<ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus nipponica<ref name="ma">{{cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Hongmei |last2=Olsen |first2=Richard |last3=Pooler |first3=Margaret |year=2009 |title=Evaluation of Flowering Cherry Species, Hybrids, and Cultivars Using Simple Sequence Repeat Markers |url=http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/37581/PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303130112/http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/37581/PDF |archive-date=3 March 2016 |journal=Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science |volume=134 |issue=4 |pages=435–444 |doi=10.21273/JASHS.134.4.435 |doi-access=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>'' * ''Prunus padus'' * ''Prunus × parvifolia'' (''P. incisa'' × ''P. speciosa''<ref name = "katsuki201796"/>) * ''Prunus pseudocerasus<ref name=":1" />'' * ''Prunus × sacra<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" />'' (''P. itosakura'' × ''P. jamasakura''<ref name = "katsuki201796"/>) * ''Prunus sargentii<ref name=":2" />''<ref name=":1" /> * ''Prunus serrulata var. lannesiana, Prunus lannesiana'' (''Prunus'' Sato-zakura group. Complex interspecific hybrids based on ''Prunus speciosa''.<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=86–95, 137}}) * ''Prunus × sieboldii<ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus speciosa<ref name="Nakamura">{{cite journal |author1=Satoshi Ohta |author2=Shinsuke Osumi |author3=Toshio Katsuki |author4=Ikuo Nakamura |author5=Toshiya Yamamoto |author6=Yo-Ichiro Sato |year=2006 |title=Genetic characterization of flowering cherries (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Cerasus'') using ''rpl16-rpl14'' spacer sequences of chloroplast DNA |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjshs/75/1/75_1_72/_pdf |journal=園芸雑誌(J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci.) |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=72–78 |doi=10.2503/jjshs.75.72 |access-date=2011-04-06 |doi-access=free}}</ref>''<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=89–95, 103–106, 166–170}} * ''Prunus × subhirtella<ref name=":2" />'' (''P. incisa'' × ''P. itosakura''<ref name = "katsuki201796"/>) * ''Prunus × syodoi<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus × tajimensis<ref name=":2" />'' * ''Prunus × takenakae<ref name=":5" />''<ref name=":2" /> * ''Prunus × yedoensis<ref name=":5" />'' (''P. itosakura'' × ''P. speciosa''<ref name = "katsuki201796"/>)

[[File:Yoshino Sakura Tidal Basin DC.jpg|thumb|''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' 'Somei-yoshino' (Yoshino cherry) ]]

The most popular cherry blossom cultivar in Japan is 'Somei-yoshino' (Yoshino cherry). Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. They bloom and usually fall within a week before the leaves come out. Therefore, the trees look nearly white from top to bottom. The cultivar takes its name from the village of Somei, which is now part of Toshima in Tokyo. It was developed in the mid- to late-19th century, at the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. The 'Somei-yoshino' is so widely associated with cherry blossoms that ''jidaigeki'' and other works of fiction often show the trees being cultivated in the Edo period or earlier, although such depictions are anachronisms.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=40–45}}

''Prunus'' × ''kanzakura'' 'Kawazu-zakura' (Kawazu cherry) is a representative cultivar that blooms before the arrival of spring. It is a natural hybrid between the Oshima cherry and ''Prunus campanulata'' and is characterized by deep pink petals. Wild cherry trees usually do not bloom in cold seasons because they cannot produce offspring if they bloom before spring, when pollinating insects become active. However, it is thought that 'Kawazu-zakura' blooms earlier because ''Prunus campanulata'' from Okinawa, which did not originally grow naturally in Honshu, was crossed with the Oshima cherry. In wild species, flowering before spring is a disadvantageous feature of selection; in cultivars such as 'Kawazu-zakura', early flowering and flower characteristics are preferred, and they are propagated by grafting.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=98–100}}

[[File:Kawazu-zakura3.jpg|thumb|''Prunus'' × ''kanzakura'' 'Kawazu-zakura' (Kawazu cherry), a representative cultivar of the cold season that blooms from late February to early March in Japan|left]]

Cherry trees are generally classified by species and cultivar, but in Japan they are also classified using names based on the characteristics of the flowers and trees. Cherry trees with more petals than the ordinary five are classified as ''yae-zakura'' (double-flowered sakura), and those with drooping branches are classified as ''shidare-zakura'', or weeping cherry. Most ''yae-zakura'' and ''shidare-zakura'' are cultivars. Famous ''shidare-zakura'' cultivars include 'Shidare-zakura', 'Beni-shidare', and 'Yae-beni-shidare', all derived from the wild species ''Prunus itosakura (syn, ''Prunus subhirtella'' or Edo higan)''.<ref name="katsuki2015" />{{Rp|pages=86–87}}

The color of cherry blossoms is generally a gradation between white and red, but there are cultivars with unusual colors such as yellow and green. The representative cultivars of these colors are {{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Grandiflora' A. Wagner (Ukon)|ja|ウコン}} and {{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Gioiko' Koidz (Gyoiko)|ja|ギョイコウ}}, which were developed in the Edo period of Japan.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|pages=86–95, 104}}

In 2007, Riken produced a new cultivar named 'Nishina zao' by irradiating cherry trees with a heavy-ion beam. This cultivar is a mutation of the green-petaled {{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Gioiko' (Gyoiko)|ja|ギョイコウ}}; it is characterized by its pale yellow-green-white flowers when it blooms and pale yellow-pink flowers when they fall. Riken produced the cultivars 'Nishina otome' (blooms in both spring and autumn, or year-round in a greenhouse), 'Nishina haruka' (larger flowers), and 'Nishina komachi' ('lantern-like' flowers that remain partially closed) in the same way.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.riken.jp/en/about/history/story/zao/ |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302124605/https://www.riken.jp/en/about/history/story/zao/ |title=Nishina Zao |website=Riken |language=en |access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.riken.jp/pr/fun/sakura/index.html |trans-title=A new kind of cherry blossom |script-title=ja:新種のサクラ |website= Riken |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=ja}}</ref>

{{Gallery |align=center |mode=nolines |width=200 |height=155 |File:Shidare-zakura シダレザクラ2.jpg|''Prunus itosakura'' 'Pendula' (Shidare-zakura) |File:Weeping cherry tree in Daianji elementary school 02.jpg|''Prunus itosakura'' 'Plena Rosea' (Yae-beni-shidare) is a cultivar having characteristics of both ''yae-zakura'' and ''shidare-zakura''. |File:ウコン近接.jpg|{{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Grandiflora' A. Wagner (Ukon)|ja|ウコン (サクラ)}} with rare yellow flowers developed in the Edo period of Japan. One of the cultivars selected for the British Award of Garden Merit. |File:Prunus lannesiana Gioiko 04.jpg|{{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Gioiko' Koidz (Gyoiko)|ja|ギョイコウ}} with rare green flowers developed in the Edo period of Japan. |File:Beniyutaka2.jpg|{{ill|''Prunus × sieboldii'' 'Beni-yutaka'|ja|ベニユタカ}}. One of the cultivars selected for the British Award of Garden Merit. }}

All wild cherry trees produce small, unpalatable fruit or edible cherries, however, some cultivars have structural modifications to render the plant unable to naturally reproduce.<ref name="nzppi">{{Cite web|url=https://nzppi.co.nz/Prunus-serrulata-Auckland-ban/19776-bac69eb1-0526-41bc-962d-7cee8c88fbcf-s119774/ |title= Prunus serrulata Auckland ban |date= 3 August 2021 |website=New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated}}</ref> For example, {{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Hisakura' (Ichiyo)|ja|イチヨウ}} and {{ill|''Prunus serrulata'' 'Albo-rosea' Makino (Fugenzo)|ja|フゲンゾウ}}, which originated from the Oshima cherry, have a modified pistil that develops into a leaf-like structure, and can only be propagated by artificial methods such as grafting and cutting.<ref name ="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|107}} Cherry trees grown for their fruit are generally cultivars of the related species ''Prunus avium'', ''Prunus cerasus'', and ''Prunus fruticosa''.{{Sfn|Iezzoni |Lang |Pulawska |Quero-García |2017|loc=p. 100, pp. 119–122}}

== Cultivation by country == {{Main|Cherry blossom cultivation by country}}

[[File:Kungsträdgården vår 2012a.jpg|thumb|Cherry blossoms at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm, Sweden]]

In the present day, ornamental cherry blossom trees are distributed and cultivated worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/nation/2023/03/01/look-cherry-blossoms-blooming-around-world/11374723002/ |title= A look at Cherry Blossoms blooming around the world |website=USA Today |first1=Di'Amond |last1=Moore |date=March 1, 2023}}</ref> While flowering cherry trees were historically present in Europe, North America, Philippines, and China,<ref name="katsuki2015"/>{{Rp|122}} the practice of cultivating ornamental cherry trees was centered in Japan,<ref name="katsuki2018"/>{{Rp|pages=160–161}} and many of the cultivars planted worldwide, such as that of ''Prunus × yedoensis'',<ref name=rushforth>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.</ref> have been developed from Japanese hybrids.

The global distribution of ornamental cherry trees, along with flower viewing festivals or ''hanami'', largely started in the early 20th century, often as gifts from Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/cherry-trees-a-first-lady-legacy.htm |title=Cherry Trees: A First Lady's Legacy |access-date=February 20, 2024 |website=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="berlin">{{cite web|title=The Sakura Campaign – The State of Berlin|url=http://stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/umwelt/stadtgruen/stadtbaeume/en/sakura/index.shtml|website=Berlin.de|access-date=2 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="toronto">{{Cite web |date=2017-08-16 |title=Cherry Blossoms |url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/cherry-blossoms/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=City of Toronto |language=en-CA}}</ref> However, some regions have historically cultivated their own native species of flowering cherry trees, a notable variety of which is the Himalayan wild cherry tree ''Prunus cerasoides''.<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | ''Prunus cerasoides'' | 29865 | access-date=24 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Wild Himalayan"/><ref name="ChandelEtAl2007">{{Cite journal |last1=Chandel |first1=V. |last2=Rana |first2=T. |last3=Hallan |first3=V. |last4=Zaidi |first4=A. A. |year=2007 |title=Wild Himalayan Cherry (Prunus cerasoides) as a Natural Host of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus in India |journal=Plant Disease |volume=91 |issue=12 |page=1686 |doi=10.1094/PDIS-91-12-1686C |pmid=30780621 |doi-access=|bibcode=2007PlDis..91.1686C }}</ref>

== The origin of wild cherry species == [[File:Wild Himalayan Cherry (Prunus cerasoides) Cibodas Botanical Garden.JPG|thumb|''Prunus cerasoides'' in West Java, Indonesia]]

The wild Himalayan cherry, ''Prunus cerasoides'', is native to the Himalayan region of Asia, and is common in countries such as Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Myanmar, where it is also cultivated.<ref name="Wild Himalayan">{{Cite web |title=Wild Himalayan Cherry |first=Navendu |last=Pāgé | url=https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Wild%20Himalayan%20Cherry.html |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=www.flowersofindia.net }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SAKURA MAGIC IN THE NILGIRIS | url=https://thepapyrus.in/index.php/sakura-magic-in-the-nilgiris-wild-cherry-blossom-pollachi-papyrus/ |first=Divya |last=Chandran |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=thepapyrus.in |date=September 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ChandelEtAl2007"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Naithani |first=H. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIs_AAAAYAAJ |title=Flowering Plants of India, Nepal & Bhutan: Not Recorded in Sir J.D. Hooker's Flora of British India |date=1990 |publisher=Surya Publications |isbn=978-81-85276-20-5 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1975, three Japanese researchers proposed a theory that cherry trees originated in the Himalayan region and spread eastwards to reach Japan at a time before human civilisation, when the Japanese archipelago was connected to the Eurasian continent, and that cherry species differentiation was actively promoted in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wisdom.nec.com/ja/series/tanaka/2021032401/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424051504/https://wisdom.nec.com/ja/series/tanaka/2021032401/index.html|script-title=ja:��国の人たちはなぜ花見をするようになったのか 日本を通じて桜を再発見した中国の人々|language=ja|author=Nobuhiko Tanaka|date=24 March 2021|archive-date=24 April 2021|access-date=5 April 2024}}</ref>

According to Masataka Somego, a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, cherry trees originated 10 million years ago in what is now Nepal and later differentiated in the Japanese archipelago, giving rise to species unique to Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.htsj.or.jp/dennetsu/denpdf/Prof_Somego.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328122238/https://www.htsj.or.jp/dennetsu/denpdf/Prof_Somego.pdf|title=How it became Sakura in Japan|page=4|publisher=J stage|author=Masataka Somego|date=|archive-date=28 March 2023|access-date=5 April 2024}}</ref>

According to the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, detailed DNA research has shown that the ''Prunus itosakura'' and the ''Prunus speciosa'', which is endemic to Japan, differentiated into independent species 5.52 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kenta Shirasawa |author2=Tomoya Esumi |author3=Hideki Hirakawa |author4=Hideyuki Tanaka |author5=Akihiro Itai |author6=Andrea Ghelfi |author7=Hideki Nagasaki |author8=Sachiko Isobe |title=Phased genome sequence of an interspecific hybrid flowering cherry, 'Somei-Yoshino' (Cerasus × yedoensis) |journal=DNA Research |date=2019 |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=379–389 |doi=10.1093/dnares/dsz016 |pmid=31334758 |biorxiv=10.1101/573451 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://univ-journal.jp/25310/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407165222/https://univ-journal.jp/25310/|script-title=ja:ソメイヨシノのゲノム解読に成功、開花時期の予測が可能に|language=ja|publisher=University Journal Online|date=1 April 2019|archive-date=7 April 2021}}</ref>

[[File:P grayana2.JPG|thumb|''Prunus grayana'']]

On the other hand, according to Ko Shimamoto, a professor at Nara Institute of Science and Technology, modern theories based on detailed DNA research reject the theory that the Himalayan cherry tree is the root of the Japanese cherry tree, and the ancestor of the cherry tree is estimated to be a plant belonging to the ''Prunus grayana''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jspp.org/hiroba/q_and_a/detail.html?id=1927&key=&target=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405111127/https://jspp.org/hiroba/q_and_a/detail.html?id=1927&key=&target=|script-title=ja:秋咲きのサクラはヒマラヤザクラの先祖返り？|language=ja|publisher=The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists|date=|archive-date=5 April 2024|access-date=5 April 2024}}</ref>

According to HuffPost, it is a widely held consensus that the origin of the first cherry blossoms happened somewhere in the Himalayas, Eurasia but scholars posit that the blossoms may have reached Japan around several thousand years ago. In Japan, centuries of hybridization have brought about more than 300 varieties of the cherry blossom.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-04-16 |title=Cherry Blossoms: History Behind the Bloom |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cherry-blossoms-history_b_3081264 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>

== Culinary use == {{Multiple image |total_width = 260 | direction = vertical | footer = | image1 = Sakura yu2.jpg | alt1 = Pickled blossoms | caption1 = Pickled blossoms | image2 = Sakura yu.jpg | alt2 = A cup of sakurayu | caption2 = A cup of sakurayu }}

Cherry blossoms and leaves are edible,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Stephanie |date=2023-02-28 |title=How Toxic Cherry Blossoms Are Turned Into Edible Sakura |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1213178/how-toxic-cherry-blossoms-are-turned-into-edible-sakura/ |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=Tasting Table |language=en-US}}</ref> and both are used as food ingredients in Japan:

* The blossoms are pickled in salt and umezu (ume vinegar),<ref name="tsukemono"/> and used for coaxing out flavor in wagashi, a traditional Japanese confectionery, or anpan, a Japanese sweet bun most-commonly filled with red bean paste.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-01 |title=Preserved Cherry Blossoms and Sakura Vinegar|url=https://www.diversivore.com/preserved-cherry-blossoms/ |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=Diversivore |language=en-CA}}</ref> The pickling method, known as {{Nihongo|''sakurazuke''|桜漬け}}, is said to date back to the end of the Edo period,<ref name="scmpfd">{{Cite web |last=Mok |first=Charmaine |date=25 March 2023 |title=How Japanese cherry blossom is used in food, what its tastes like, and where in Hong Kong you can find it |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3214671/how-japanese-cherry-blossom-used-food-what-its-tastes-and-where-hong-kong-you-can-find-it |website=South China Morning Post}}</ref> though the general method of pickling vegetables in salt to produce ''tsukemono'' has been known as early as the Jōmon period.<ref name="Reid">{{cite book |last=Reid |first=Libby |url=http://k-i-a.or.jp/kokusai/jigyou/english-lesson/ts-report/report2008.pdf |title=TSUKEMONO: A Look at Japanese Pickling Techniques |date=August 2008 |publisher=Kanagawa International Foundation |page=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124012004/http://k-i-a.or.jp/kokusai/jigyou/english-lesson/ts-report/report2008.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> * Salt-pickled blossoms in hot water are called sakurayu<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/03/23/food/cherry-blossom-captures-the-flavor-of-spring/ |title=Cherry blossom captures the flavor of spring |first=Makiko |last=Itoh |date=March 23, 2012 |website=The Japan Times}}</ref> and drunk at festive events like weddings in place of green tea.<ref name="scmpfd"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.happy-pair.com/useful/glossary/wedding/1322701/ |script-title=ja:【ホームメイト】桜湯｜ウェディング用語辞書 |trans-title=【Homemate】Sakura-yu｜Wedding terminology dictionary |language=ja |access-date=February 20, 2024 |website=Happy Pair}}</ref> * The leaves are pickled in salted water and used for sakuramochi.<ref name="tsukemono">{{Cite book |last1=Mouritsen |first1=Ole G. |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-57862-6 |title=Tsukemono: Decoding the Art and Science of Japanese Pickling |last2=Styrbæk |first2=Klavs |date=2021 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-57861-9 |location=Cham |page=120 |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-57862-6 |s2cid=241732185 }} "A traditional Japanese sweet confection (sakura-mochi) consists of a ball of sweet, glutinous rice wrapped in a salt-pickled cherry leaf. Even if one does not want to eat the leaf, one will still experience a cherry taste as it seeps into the rice."</ref> * Cherry blossoms are used as a flavoring botanical in Japanese Roku gin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bartenders' guide to foraging: Cherry blossom |url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/1651/cocktails/bartenders-guide-to-foraging-cherry-blossom |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.diffordsguide.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Toxicity === Cherry leaves and blossoms contain coumarin,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Poonam |first1=V. |last2=Raunak |first2=null |last3=Kumar |first3=G. |last4=Reddy L |first4=C. S. |last5=Jain |first5=R. |last6=Sharma |first6=S. K. |last7=Prasad |first7=A. K. |last8=Parmar |first8=V. S. |date=2011 |title=Chemical constituents of the genus Prunus and their medicinal properties |journal=Current Medicinal Chemistry |volume=18 |issue=25 |pages=3758–3824 |doi=10.2174/092986711803414386 |issn=1875-533X |pmid=21831039}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shibato |first1=Junko |last2=Takenoya |first2=Fumiko |last3=Hirabayashi |first3=Takahiro |last4=Kimura |first4=Ai |last5=Iwasaki |first5=Yusuke |last6=Toyoda |first6=Yoko |last7=Hori |first7=Motohide |last8=Tamogami |first8=Shigeru |last9=Rakwal |first9=Randeep |last10=Shioda |first10=Seiji |date=2019-07-25 |title=Towards identification of bioactive compounds in cold vacuum extracted double cherry blossom (Gosen-Sakura) leaves |journal=Plant Signaling & Behavior |volume=14 |issue=10 |article-number=e1644594 |doi=10.1080/15592324.2019.1644594 |issn=1559-2316 |pmc=6768248 |pmid=31342859|bibcode=2019PlSiB..14E4594S }}</ref> which is potentially hepatotoxic and is banned in high doses by the Food and Drug Administration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yamada |first1=Takashi |last2=Katsutani |first2=Naruo |last3=Maruyama |first3=Taeko |last4=Kawamura |first4=Tomoko |last5=Yamazaki |first5=Hiroshi |last6=Murayama |first6=Norie |last7=Tong |first7=Weida |last8=Yamazoe |first8=Yasushi |last9=Hirose |first9=Akihiko |date=2022-09-23 |title=Combined Risk Assessment of Food-derived Coumarin with ''in Silico'' Approaches |journal=Food Safety |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=73–82 |doi=10.14252/foodsafetyfscj.D-21-00015 |issn=2187-8404 |pmc=9509535 |pmid=36237397}}</ref> However, coumarin has a desirable vanilla-like scent, and the salt curing process used prior to most culinary applications, which involves washing, drying, and salting the blossoms or leaves for a full day, reduces the concentration of coumarin to acceptable levels while preserving its scent.<ref name=":0" /> Coumarin may also be isolated from the plant for use in perfumes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lončar |first1=Mirjana |last2=Jakovljević |first2=Martina |last3=Šubarić |first3=Drago |last4=Pavlić |first4=Martina |last5=Buzjak Služek |first5=Vlatka |last6=Cindrić |first6=Ines |last7=Molnar |first7=Maja |date=2020-05-18 |title=Coumarins in Food and Methods of Their Determination |journal=Foods |volume=9 |issue=5 |page=645 |doi=10.3390/foods9050645 |doi-access=free |issn=2304-8158 |pmc=7278589 |pmid=32443406}}</ref> pipe tobacco, or as an adulterant in vanilla flavorings, though the tonka bean is a more common natural source of this chemical.<ref>{{Citation |title=Principles of herbal pharmacology |date=2013 |work=Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy |pages=17–82 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780443069925000025 |access-date=2024-03-01 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-443-06992-5.00002-5 |isbn=978-0-443-06992-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Cherry seeds and bark contain amygdalin and should not be eaten.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bricault |first=Robert |date=13 March 2017 |title=Cherry blossom toxicity? #388219 |url=https://ask2.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=388219 |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=Ask Extension}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mekonnen |first=Serkalem |title=I Swallowed A Cherry Pit! |url=https://www.poison.org/articles/i-swallowed-a-cherry-pit-184 |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=Poison Control}}</ref>

== See also == {{columns-list|colwidth=35em| * ''The Cherry Orchard'': play by Anton Chekhov * Cherry Tree Park * Kabazaiku: sakura wood craftsmanship * Kigo: discussion of the role of ''sakura'' in Japanese poetry * List of Award of Garden Merit flowering cherries * Mayoi no Sakura, a cherry tree * ''Ohka'': special attack aircraft used in World War II * Saigyōzakura * Sakura Square * Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia * Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival }} {{commons category}}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Sources == * {{Cite book|title=Cherries: Botany, Production and Uses |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-78064-837-8 |editor-first1=Amy |editor-last1=Iezzoni |editor-first2=Gregory |editor-last2=Lang |editor-first3=Joanna |editor-last3=Pulawska |editor-first4=José |editor-last4=Quero-García |publisher=CABI}} * {{Cite book|first=Toshio |last=Katsuki |date=2015|title=Sakura |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |isbn=978-4-00-431534-6 |language=ja }} * {{Cite book|first=Toshio |last=Katsuki |date=2018 |title=Sakura no Kagaku |trans-title=Science of Cherry Blossoms| publisher=SB Creative |isbn=978-4-7973-8931-9 |language=ja }}

== External links == {{Commons and category|Cherry blossoms|Prunus in flower}} * [http://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/events/p/cherry.php Japanese Cherry Blossom Events & Locations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731221516/http://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/events/p/cherry.php |date=31 July 2016 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080429184917/http://www.sakurafestival.dk/index.php Copenhagen Sakura Festival] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150912064729/http://db1.ffpri-tmk.affrc.go.jp/sakura/home.php Flowering cherry Database]—Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute * [http://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/pubs/chukiseika/3rd-chuukiseika5.html Flowering cherry introduction]—Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute * [http://www.vcbf.ca/ Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival]—Information about the 37,000 cherry trees in Greater Vancouver (Canada), What's in bloom now, Cherry Scout reports and maps, Cultivar identification. * [http://jasgp.org/cherryblossomfestival/ Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901135100/http://jasgp.org/cherryblossomfestival/ |date=1 September 2009 }})—Information about cherry trees and the annual two-week Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia.

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Category:Cherry blossom Category:Cherries Category:Flora of Japan Category:Flowers Category:Garden plants of Asia Category:National symbols of Japan Category:Ornamental trees Category:Plants used in bonsai Category:Prunus Category:Spring (season) Category:Trees of Japan

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