1435 



"As it came under my observation in Japan, this cherry 

 is quick-growing and obviously short-lived. It makes 

 a tree from 6 to 10 meters (19| to 32f ft.) tall with 

 a trunk from 1 to 2 meters (3^ to 6 ft.) in girth, 

 and has thick, spreading and ascending-spreading branch- 

 es . The bark is pale gray and smooth even on quite old 

 trees. The shoots are stout, usually with prominent 

 lenticels, grayish at first and often passing to dull 

 reddish purple before becoming finally pale gray. The 

 leaves are glabrous and green, but as they open often 

 have a more or less brownish, metallic lustre; they 

 are ovate or rarely obovate, abruptly caudate-acuminate , 

 double-serrate, and the teeth are long-artistate . The 

 flowers are fragrant, everywhere glabrous, white ( pink- 

 ish in the bud) and may appear before or with the leaves; 

 the peduncle is sometimes almost wanting; usually it 

 is from 2 to 4 centimeters (f to 1| in. ) long, but 

 occasionally it is 6 centimeters (2| in.) and even 

 more in length. The scaly involucral bracts are slightly 

 viscid, the bracts subtending the pedicels are green, 

 obovate, glandular-ciliate and very prominent. The 

 fruit is ovoid , black, and lustrous. In this cherry the 

 peduncle is extremely variable in length, often on 

 the same individual tree, but this character has no 

 taxonomic value in this or any other Japanese species. 

 Varieties and forms have been based on this character, 

 which is not only inconstant, but may vary from year 

 to year. Koidzumi has distinguished the wild plant 

 under the name of speciosa, but I can not discover any 

 differences between a series of specimens from wild 

 trees and another from cultivated trees. Koehne says 

 this plant is under cultivation in Europe under the 

 name of P. serrulata yoshino. In Japan the vernacular name 

 Yoshino is applied to P. yedoensis, and not to any form of 

 P. lannesiana. Koidzumi gives the vernacular name of Oh- 

 yama-sakura to the wild plant. The cultivated plant and 

 its forms are known a s Oshima-zakura o r as Sakura." (Wilson, 

 The Cherries of Japan, p. 45, under P. lannesiana, f. albida.) 



Ranzan. (47140). "Flowers single, pink, on long, 

 slender pedicels. This is a very pleasing form." (Wilson, 

 The Cherries of Japan, p. 52 , under P. lannesiana, f. ranzan.) 



Shirayuki. (47141). A moderately large tree with numer- 

 ous, closely crowded , erect-spreading branches , smooth, 

 brown-gray twigs, yellowish brown young leaves and 

 white flowers with hairy peduncles. Blossoming time 

 mid-April. (Adapted from Miyoshi , Japanische Berg- 

 kirschen, p. 127, under P. serrulata, f. niveu.) "With its 

 large flowers this distinct form resembles P. yedoensis, 



