Japanese Cherry
Prunus serrulata
The practice of 'Hanami' (flower viewing) began in the Nara period, originally focusing on plum blossoms before cherry blossoms became the favorite.
- Scientific name
- Prunus serrulata
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Rosales › Rosaceae › Prunus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Temperate forests, mountain slopes, and cultivated urban landscapes.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide).
- Range
- Japan, Korea, China, North America, Europe
- Size
- 8 to 12 meters in height with a wide, spreading canopy.
- Lifespan
- 30 to 60 years in cultivation, up to 100 years in the wild.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Fungal diseases like silver leaf, aphids, and urban pollution in cultivated varieties.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and serene. Visitors should admire the blossoms without climbing the trees or breaking branches, as the bark is thin and susceptible to infection. Do not ingest the pits, as they contain cyanogenic glycosides.
Prunus serrulata or Japanese cherry , also called hill cherry , oriental cherry or East Asian cherry , is a species of cherry native to China, Japan, Korea and India, and is used for its spring cherry blossom displays and festivals. Current sources consider it to be part of a species complex with P. jamasakura and P. leveilleana , which have been reduced to synonyms.
Photo: Jenny Christianson, CC0, via iNaturalist
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