Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)

The Japanese cherry is a flowering tree native to Japan, Korea and China, celebrated above all for its brief but spectacular springtime bloom of pale pink or white blossoms, known in Japan as sakura, which cover the tree's branches for only about one to two weeks each year before the petals fall. Many of the most widely cultivated ornamental varieties are the product of centuries of selective breeding and grafting in Japan, producing trees prized purely for the beauty of their flowers rather than for fruit, which on most ornamental cultivars is small, bitter and rarely eaten. The tree's fleeting bloom has deep cultural significance in Japan, where the tradition of hanami, gathering to view and appreciate the cherry blossoms, dates back many centuries and remains a major seasonal event marked by festivals and gatherings beneath blooming trees each spring. Japanese cherry trees have since been planted as ornamental trees in cities around the world, most famously along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., following a gift of trees from Japan to the United States in 1912.