The Yoshino cherry tree that overlooks the athletic field at work has a short, stout trunk and spreading branches, framing the approach to the field. It is a beautiful tree in all seasons. In late March or early April, the tree displays a dazzling white cloud of flowers, and the petals that fall to the ground create a pretty white carpet. After the flowers appear, leaves develop. The shade created is temporary, as leaves begin shedding by July and are gone by September. Most noticeable in fall and winter is the tree’s attractive form and odd-looking bark. This tree does a great job drawing attention to itself and the area in which it was placed.
The Yoshino cherry tree, Prunus x yedoensis, is 
thought to be a cross between the Spring cherry tree and the Oshima cherry tree. The Yoshino cherry tree enjoys great popularity in Japan despite its brief history. Though other cherry trees have played an important role in Japanese culture spanning centuries, nothing is known of this tree before the mid-1800’s when it was cultivated in Edo (now Tokyo). People in Japan flock to see cherry blossoms in cherry blossom viewing season, and they meditate upon cherry blossoms as a symbol of the beautiful but ephemeral nature of life. Few outside Japan attach so much meaning to the cherry blossom, but they enjoy the beauty of the trees where they have been planted. Cherry blossom festivals are now enjoyed in Toronto, Canada, in Washington, 
D.C., and in other cities. The Yoshino cherry tree is one of the most popular and widely planted flowering cherries in the world.
Yoshino cherry trees grow in the American South, but not in warmer areas like Florida where there is not enough cold to set blooms. The tree likes full sun and a moist but well drained soil. Trees may grow 4 to 5 feet each year at first, and 3 to 4 feet each year for the rest of its life. They reach 30 to 40 feet when mature, and may be as broad. The trunk is short and stout and branches are large and extended, forming a rounded crown. The dark reddish-brown bark shows prominent lenticels, which are interesting. These lens-shaped pores in the bark allow gas 
exchange through the bark. Leaves appear after the tree flowers, and are alternate, simple, and serrated. They are elliptical and up to 6 inches long. Leaves begin to fall by July, turning yellow to orange-red, and all leaves have dropped by late August.
Flower buds develop during the summer and remain dormant until warm weather in late March or early April. Flowers appear in clusters of 5 to 6 along the branches. Each flower is about 1 inch in diameter, with 5 petals. The flowers are pale pink when first opening, and they fade to white when mature. The fruit is a drupe which at maturity is round and about ½ inch wide with a stone pit. As this cherry matures it turns red, 
and then black. Yoshino cherries are highly acidic and mildly sweet, but not tasty. Though edible, the Yoshino cherry is grown for its flowers.
Japan has given the United States many interesting trees, and the Yoshino cherry tree is perhaps the most beautiful of them all. I enjoy seeing this tree.
