''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' (synonym ''Cerasus'' × ''yedoensis'') is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

cherry tree between ''

Prunus speciosa ''Prunus speciosa'', the Oshima cherry, Japanese オオシマザクラ (Oshima zakura), is native to Izu Ōshima island and the Izu Peninsula on Honshū near Tokyo, Japan.Bean, W. J. (1980). ''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed. ...

'' (''Oshima cherry'') as father plant and ''Prunus pendula'' f. ''ascendens'' (syn. ''Prunus itosakura'', ''Prunus subhirtella'' var. ''ascendens'', ''Edo higan'') as mother. It is a hybrid born in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and one of its

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

, ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' 'Somei-yoshino' or Yoshino cherry (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 染井吉野　ソメイヨシノ ''Somei Yoshino''), is one of the most popular and widely planted cherry cultivars in temperate regions around the world today.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . 'Somei-yoshino' is a clone from a single tree, and has been propagated by

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

all over the world. 'Somei-yoshino' inherits ''Edo higan'''s quality of blooming before the leaves unfold and it growing into a large-sized tree. It also inherits the characteristics of the ''Oshima cherry'', which grows rapidly and has white flowers. These characteristics are favored and have become one of the most popular cultivars of cherry trees.Toshio Katsuki. (2015) ''Sakura''. pp40-41.

Iwanami Shoten is a Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo.Louis Frédéric, ''Japan Encyclopedia'', Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 409. Iwanami Shoten was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo. Its first major publication was Natsume Sōseki's novel '' ...

. Toshio Katsuki. (2015) ''Sakura''. pp.178-182.

. One of the spots where ''P.'' × ''yedoensis'' grows wild is around Funabara Pass on the Izu Peninsula, which is close to the birthplace of its paternal species, Oshima cherry, and the wild ''P.'' × ''yedoensis'' in the area and the cultivar developed from it are called 'Funabara-yoshino'.Toshio Katsuki. (2015) ''Sakura''. p64.

. On April 1, 2019, the Kazusa DNA Research Institute,

Shimane University — colloquially known as — is a national university in Japan. Although formally established as a university in 1949, Shima-dai's origins date back to the late 19th century. In 2003 it merged with the Shimane Medical University (established ...

and

Kyoto Prefectural University , or for short, is one of the public universities in Japan. Its campus is located in Nakaragi-cho, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Jap ...

announced that they had decoded all the genetic information of 'Somei-Yoshino', and it was revealed that 'Somei-yoshino' descended from ''Edo higan'' and ''Oshima cherry'', as is commonly believed. It was also revealed that the two ancestral species separated into different species 5.52 million years ago, and that 'Somei-yoshino' was born by hybridization over 100 years ago.

Names

In 1900, gave the Yoshino cherry the name ''Somei-yoshino'' after the famous place of cultivation, Somei village (current day

Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, a ...

) and famous place of ''

Prunus jamasakura ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows naturally in Japan, China, and Korea, and it also refers to a cultivar produced from ''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry), a cherry tree endemic in Japan.Toshio Kat ...

'',

Mount Yoshino is a mountain located in the town of Yoshino in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan that is a major religious and literary site. It is renowned for its cherry blossoms and attracts many visitors every spring, when the trees are in blossom ...

. In 1901, Yoshino cherry was given a scientific name ''Prunus yedoensis'' by

Jinzō Matsumura was a Japanese botanist. Biography Matsumura was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, of a samurai family. He took a great interest in botany as a young man. In 1883, he had been made assistant professor of botany in the University of Tokyo under Ry� ...

. However, after

Ernest Henry Wilson Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson (15 February 1876 – 15 October 1930), better known as E. H. Wilson, was a notable British plant collector and explorer who introduced a large range of about 2000 Asian plant species to the Western culture, West; ...

suggested Yoshino cherry is a hybrid between ''Prunus subhirtella'' var. ''ascendens'' (''Edo higan'') and ''Prunus lannesiana'' (''Oshima cherry'') in 1916, Yoshino cherry came to be called ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis''. As for the Korean native cherry called

King cherry King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

which was given a scientific name ''Prunus yedoensis'' var. ''nudiflora'' by a German botanist

Bernhard Adalbert Emil Koehne Bernhard Adalbert Emil Koehne (12 February 1848 – 12 October 1918) was a German botanist and dendrologist born near Striegau, a town known today as Strzegom, Poland. Koehne was a professor of botany in Berlin and was a leading authority ...

in 1912 continues to be called ''Prunus yedoensis''. The Yoshino cherry has no scientific cultivar name because it is the original cultivar of this hybrid species ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis''. A new name, 'Somei-yoshino' is proposed in accordance with other cultivars of ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis''.

Description

''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' is a small,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

that grows to be (rarely ) tall at maturity. It grows well in

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

s 5–8, and does well in full sun and moist but well-drained soil. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternately arranged, long and broad, with a serrated margin; they are often bronze-toned when newly emerged, becoming dark green by summer. The

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

emerge before the leaves in early spring; they are fragrant, in diameter, with five white or pale pink petals. The flowers grow in clusters of five or six together. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, a small cherry, is a globose

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

in diameter; they are an important source of food for many small birds and mammals, including robins and

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...

. Although the fruit contain little flesh, it contains much concentrated red juice which can stain clothing and bricks. The fruit is only marginally sweet to the human palate.

Cultivation

With its fragrant, light pink flowers, manageable size, and elegant shape, the Yoshino cherry is often used as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. Many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been selected; notable examples include 'Akebono' (or 'America' in Japan), 'Ivensii', and 'Shidare Yoshino'. From the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period, gardeners and craftsman who made the village at Somei in Edo (now Komagome, Toshima ward, Tokyo) grew ''someiyoshino''. They first offered them as ''Yoshinozakura'', but in 1900, they were renamed ''someiyoshino'' by Dr. Fujino. This is sometimes rendered as 'Somei-Yoshino'. The Yoshino cherry was introduced to Europe and North America in 1902.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins The

National Cherry Blossom Festival The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhan ...

is a spring celebration in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, commemorating the 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees from Tokyo to the city of Washington. They are planted in the Tidal Basin park. Several of 2,000 Japanese cherry trees given to the citizens of Toronto by the citizens of Tokyo in 1959 were planted in

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

. Pilgrim Hill in New York City's

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

is popular for its groves of pale flowering Yoshino cherry trees as they burst into bloom in the spring.

Parental species

Most studies show that Yoshino cherry ('Somei-yoshino') is a hybrid between ''

'' (''Oshima cherry'') and ''Prunus pendula'' f. ''ascendens''. (syn. ''Prunus itosakura'', ''Prunus subhirtella'' var. ''ascendens'', ''Edo higan''). *In 1916,

concluded that Yoshino cherry strongly suggests a hybrid between ''Prunus subhirtella'' var. ''ascendens'' Wilson (Edo higan) and ''Prunus lannesiana'' Wilson (Oshima cherry). It has many characters of the latter and in its venation, pubescence and shape of the cupula resembles the former *In 1963, Takenaka assumed that Yoshino cherry is a hybrid between ''Prunus lannesiana'' var. ''speciose'' (Oshima cherry) and ''Prunus subhirtella'' var. ''pendula'' form ''ascendens'' (Edo higan). *In 1986, Takafumi Kaneko et al. carried out restriction endonuclease analysis on chloroplast ctDNA. Yoshino cherry showed no interplant variation of ctDNA and had the same ctDNA as P. pendula (Edo higan), differing from P. lannesiana (Oshima cherry) by a single HindIII restriction site. This findings suggests that P. pendula is female parent of P. yedoensis. *In 1995, Hideki Innan et al. conducted DNA fingerprinting study using different kinds of probes, M13 repeat sequence and (GACA)₄ synthetic oligonucleotide and concluded that Yoshino cherry was produced only once through hybridization between ''Prunus lannesiana'' (Oshima cherry) and ''Prunus pendula'' (Edo higan) and that this particular hybrid plant has been spread vegetatively all over Japan, *In 2014, Shuri Kato et al. conducted molecular analysis using nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphisms to trace cultivar origins and Bayesian clustering based on the STRUCTURE analysis using SSR genotypes revealed that Yoshino cherry is a hybrid between ''Prunus pendula'' f. ''ascendens'' (Edo higan) and ''Prunus lannesiana'' var. ''speciosa'' (Oshima cherry) although there was also a small and nonsignificant association with ''Prunus jamasakura''. The proportion of each species is Edo higan 47%, Oshima cherry 37%, and ''jamasakura'' 11%. Online Resource

/ref> *In 2015, Ikuo Nakamura et al. analyzed sequences of

intron An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', i.e. a region inside a gene."The notion of the cistron .e., gene. ...

19 and

exon An exon is any part of a gene that will form a part of the final mature RNA produced by that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing. The term ''exon'' refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and to the corresponding sequen ...

20 of

PolA1 DNA polymerase alpha catalytic subunit is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''POLA1'' gene. Function This gene encodes the p180 catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α-primase. Pol α has limited processivity and lacks 3′ exonucle ...

. One of two exon 20 sequences found in Yoshino cherry was the same as that of P. pendula (Edo higan), whereas the other sequence was shared with several taxa in seven wild species, including P. jamasakura (Yamazakura) and P. lannesiana (Oshima cherry). Yoshino cherry contained two different haplotypes of the intron 19 sequences; one was the same as that of Oshima cherry. While another haplotype of Yoshino cherry was different from that of Edo higan by two SNPs but identical to one of two haplotypes of P. pendula ‘Komatsuotome,’ which is a cultivar of Edo higan. These results indicated that Yoshino cherry probably originated by the hybridization of cultivars derived from Edo higan and Oshima cherry.

Origin debates

*In 1908, a French missionary Taquet discovered a native cherry in Jeju islands, Korea and in 1912 a German botanist Koehne gave it a scientific name ''Prunus yedoensis'' var. ''nudiflora''. Although this species called Eishu zakura is a variation of Yoshino cherry ('Somei-yoshino'), from then it was misrepresented that Yoshino cherry was growing naturally in Jeju Island. *In 1933, the Japanese botanist Gen'ichi Koizumi reported that Yoshino cherry originated on Jeju island,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Koreans claimed that the Japanese stole Yoshino cherry from South Korea at the time of Japanese annexation of Korea. *In 1962,

Yo Takenaka Yo Takenaka (竹中要 Takenaka Yō, 1903–1966) was a Japanese plant geneticist and a Professor of Department of Cell Genetics, National Institute of Genetics. He is notable for researching the phylogenetic classification of cherry blossom. He ...

ruled out the possibility of Korean origin by the morphological study. *In 1995 DNA fingerprinting technology was used to conclude that Yoshino cherry grown in many parts of Japan under the name ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' is indeed clonally propagated from the same hybrid offspring of ''Prunus lannesiana'' (''Oshima cherry'') and ''Prunus pendula'' (''Edo higan''), which confirms the 1991 conclusion given by Iwasaki Fumio that ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' originated around 1720–1735 by artificial crossing of these species in Edo (Tokyo). Oshima cherry is an endemic species found only around

Izu Islands The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ō ...

Izu Izu may refer to: Places *Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan **Izu, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka prefecture **Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo **Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula People with the surname

*, Japane ...

and

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

s not around Korean Peninsula. *In 2007, a study conducted on the comparison of Japanese Yoshino cherry and Korean

concluded that the trees native to these two places can be categorized as distinct species. It was confirmed that South Korea's claim was false. *In 2016, the phylogenetic analysis of nrDNA ITS data and the cpDNA haplotype network analysis suggested that independent origin between King cherry and yoshino cherry, respectively. *In 2016, a new scientific name ''Cerasus'' × ''nudiflora'' was given to King cherry to distinguish it from Yoshino cherry (''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'').

Other cultivars

''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' has many cultivars other than 'Somei-yoshino' (Yoshino cherry). *‘Amagi-yoshino’ (天城吉野) *‘America’ (アメリカ) (or 'Akebono' in the U.S.) *‘Candida’ (薄毛大島, Usuge-oshima) *‘Funabara-yoshino’ (船原吉野) *‘Hayazaki-oshima’ (早咲大島) *‘Izu-yoshino’ (伊豆吉野) *‘Kichijouji’ (吉祥寺) *‘Kurama-zakura’ (鞍馬桜) *‘Mikado-yoshino’ (御帝吉野) *‘Mishima-zakura’ (三島桜) *‘Morioka-pendula’ (盛岡枝垂, Morioka-shidare) *‘Naniwa-zakura’ (浪速桜) *‘Pendula’ (枝垂大臭桜), Shidare-ookusai-zakura *‘Perpendens’ (枝垂染井吉野, Shidare-somei-yoshino) *‘Pilosa’ (毛大島桜, Ke-oshima-zakura) *‘Sakabai’ (仙台吉野, Sendai-yoshino) *‘Sakuyahime’ (咲耶姫) *‘Sasabe-zakura’ (笹部桜) *‘Shouwa-zakura’ (昭和桜) *‘Somei-higan’ (染井彼岸) *‘Somei-nioi’ (染井匂) *‘Sotorihime’ (衣通姫) *‘Suruga-zakura’ (駿河桜) *‘Syuzenzi-zakura’ (修善寺桜) *‘Waseyoshino’ (早生吉野) *‘Somei-beni’ (染井紅)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prunus × yedoensis yedoensis Cherries Cherry blossom Flora of Japan Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Trees of Japan