Cherry Blossom
Cherry Blossom
Cherry blossom or Sakura (Japanese Kanji and Chinese character: 桜 or 櫻; katakana: サクラ) are cherry trees, Prunus serrulata, and their blossom
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Amygdaloideae
Genus: Prunus
Species
Prunus jamasakura
Prunus serrulata
Prunus x yedoensis
They are widely distributed, especially in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mainland China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Thailand and West Siberia. Along with the chrysanthemum,[citation needed] the cherry blossom is considered the national flower of Japan.
All varieties of cherry blossom trees produce small, unpalatable fruit or edible cherries. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus.
Symbolism in Japan
In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhist influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware. The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga. The transience of the blossoms, the exquisite beauty and volatility, has often been associated with mortality and graceful and readily acceptance of destiny and karma; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled "Sakura", and several pop songs. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono, stationery, and dishware.
Cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle, Japan
By Country
Brazil
With the Japanese diaspora to Brazil, many immigrants brought seedlings of cherry trees. In São Paulo State, home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan, it is common to find them in Japan-related facilities and in some homes, usually of the cultivars Prunus serrulata 'Yukiwari' and Prunus serrulata var. lannesiana 'Himalaya'. Some cities, as Garça and Campos do Jordão, have annual festivals to celebrate the blooming of the trees and the Japanese culture. In the Parana State (in southern Brazil), many cities received many of these immigrants, who planted the trees, as in Apucarana,Maringá, Cascavel and especially in the capital city of Curitiba.
In the capital city of Paraná, the first seedlings were brought by Japanese immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, but large quantities of them were only planted from the 1990s, with the opening of the Botanical Garden of Curitiba.Nowadays the seedlings are produced locally and used in afforestation of streets and squares – as in the Japanese Square, where there are more than 30 cherry trees around the square which were sent by the Japanese Empire to Curitiba.
Cherry blossom in the Praça do Japão (Japan Square), Curitiba, Brazil
Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, is famous for its thousands of cherry trees (estimated 50,000) lining many streets and in many parks, including Queen Elizabeth Park and Stanley Park. Vancouver holds the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival every year. With multiple varieties and a temperate climate, they begin to bloom in February yearly and peak in April.High Park in Toronto, Ontario, features many Somei-Yoshino cherry trees (the earliest species to bloom and much loved by the Japanese for their fluffy white flowers) that were given to Toronto by Japan in 1959. Through the Sakura Project, the Japanese Consulate donated a further 34 cherry trees to High Park in 2001, plus cherry trees to various other locations like Exhibition Place, McMaster University, York University (near Calumet College and on Ottawa Road near McLaughlin College) and the University of Toronto's main (next to Robarts Library) and Scarborough campuses. Niagara Falls has many near the falls itself. Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington and Hamilton was the recipient of a number of Somei-Yoshino cherry trees that were donated by the Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto as part of the Sakura Project. The trees are located in the Arboretum and the Rock Garden and were planted to celebrate the continual strengthening of friendship between Japan and Canada. Peak bloom time at Royal Botanical Gardens is normally around the last week of April or the first week of May.
Cherry blossoms in Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
France
Parc de Sceaux, located in a suburb of Paris, has two orchards of cherry trees, one for white cherry blossoms (Prunus avium) and one for pink cherry blossoms (Prunus serrulata), the latter with about 150 trees that attract many visitors when they bloom in early April.
Blooming cherry blossom trees in Parc de Sceaux, France
Taiwan
Typically found in mountainous areas, cherry blossoms are a popular attraction in Taiwan, with numerous specially tailored viewing tours. Among the most easily accessible and thus most popular locations for viewing them are Yangmingshan, in Taipei, and Wuling Farm, in Taichung.
Cherry blossoms and water wheel in Hagley Park
United States
Japan gave 3,020 cherry blossom trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations' growing friendship, replacing an earlier gift of 2,000 trees which had to be destroyed due to disease in 1910. These trees were planted in Sakura Park in Manhattan and line the shore of the Tidal Basin and the roadway in East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. The first two original trees were planted by first lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda on the bank of the Tidal Basin. The gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965. In Washington, D.C. the cherry blossom trees continue to be a popular tourist attraction (and the subject of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival) when they reach full bloom in early spring. Just outside of Washington, the suburb of Kenwood in Bethesda, Maryland, has roughly 1,200 trees that are popular with locals and tourists.
New Jersey's Branch Brook Park, which is maintained by Essex County, is the oldest county park in the United States and is home to the nation's largest collection of cherry blossom trees, with about 5,000.
Balboa Park in San Diego has 2,000 cherry blossom trees that blossom in mid- to late March. In Los Angeles, over 2,000 trees are located at Lake Balboa in Van Nuys. These trees were donated by an anonymous Japanese benefactor and were planted in 1992. They originated from a single parent tree and were developed to grow in warm climates.
Philadelphia is home to over 2,000 flowering Japanese cherry trees, half of which were a gift from the Japanese government in 1926 in honor of the 150th anniversary of American independence, with the other half planted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia between 1998 and 2007. Philadelphia's cherry blossoms are located within Fairmount Park, and the annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia celebrates the blooming trees. The University of Washington in Seattle also has cherry blossoms in its quad.
Other US cities have an annual cherry blossom festival (or sakura matsuri), including the International Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia, which features over 300,000 cherry trees. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City also has a large, well-attended festival.Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is the site of the peace conference that produced the Treaty of Portsmouth, for which the original Washington, D.C. cherry trees were given in thanks. Several cherry trees planted on the bank of the tidal pond next to Portsmouth City Hall were the gift of Portsmouth's Japanese sister city of Nichinan—the hometown of Marquis Komura Jutarō, Japan's representative at the conference. Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, has 200 somei yoshino trees, a gift from its sister institution, Japan's Chubu University.
Cherry blossoms in Washington D.C.
Things You Didn't Know About Cherry Blossoms
Cherry trees have a short lifespan.
Typically, they only last about 16-20 years. But certain species have a much longer life expectancy. Black cherry trees, for example, can live up to 250 years.
You can get arrested for breaking off a blossom.
Yep, think again before you decide to pluck one of these pink beauties. Removing a blossom is viewed as vandalism of federal property in Washington, D.C., which can lead to a citation or even arrest.
Each tree may only bloom for up to a week.
While cherry blossom season usually lasts about a month, from the time the first to the last tree blooms, each individual tree may only flower for about a week. Trees usually live for 30 to 40 years
They aren't always pink.
The Takesimensis variety, known for its white flowers, is actually more common than you might think in the U.S. Other blossoms change colors throughout the blooming period, such as Ukon, which go from greenish yellow to white before turning pink.
There are 200 different varieties of cherry blossom.
In Japan, the most popular variety is "Somei Yoshino." In the U.S., mainly Yoshino hybrids line the Tidal Basin, National Mall, and Potomac waterfront.
Cherry trees can be huge.
An average Japanese cherry tree is around 25 feet tall, while some can grow to 50 feet tall with a 40-foot wide canopy. With some TLC, these trees can reach 75 feet in their native habitat.
The flower petals are edible.
In fact, you can salt them and add them to treats such as cookies, cakes, and jellies, pickle them to use as a garnish, or buy them prepared and brew traditional Japanese sakura tea with them.
Sources
Question :
1. What is the scientific name of Cherry Blossom?
2. What kind of species that have already mentioned?
3. What country that has Cherry Blossom in their land?
4. What species that have a long lifespan until 250 years?
5. What species that the color of the flower is white?
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