Prunus speciosa

(Koidzumi) Nakai

Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 29: 139. 1915.

Common names: Japanese flowering or Oriental cherry
Introduced
Basionym: Prunus jamasakura var. speciosa Koidzumi Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 25: 186. 1911
Synonyms: P. serrulata var. lannesiana (Carrière) Makino
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 369. Mentioned on page 356, 359.

Trees, not suckering, 60–100 (–250) dm, not thorny. Twigs with terminal end buds, glabrous. Leaves deciduous; petiole 7–45 mm, glabrous, glandular, glands 2–4, discoid; blade elliptic to obovate, 5–17 × 3–8 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly serrate, teeth aristate, glandular, apex caudate, surfaces glabrous. Inflorescences (2–) 3–5 (–6) -flowered, corymbs; central axes 5–25 (–60) mm. Pedicels 10–40 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), glabrous or sparsely hairy. Flowers blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium tubular, 4–8 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading to reflexed, oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 3–8 mm, margins entire or toothed, eglandular, surfaces glabrous; petals white or pink, suborbiculate to oblong-obovate, 8–18 mm; ovaries glabrous. Drupes black, globose, 10–13 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid, slightly flattened. 2n = 16 (Japan).


Phenology: Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul.
Habitat: Disturbed sites, abandoned plantings
Elevation: 0–200 m

Distribution

V9 602-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; Calif., Mass., N.C., e Asia (Japan)

Discussion

The name Prunus serrulata has been widely applied to P. speciosa by North American botanists and horticulturalists (for example, P. G. Russell 1934; A. J. Rehder 1940); some Japanese cherry experts now circumscribe P. serrulata more narrowly so that it includes only the white-petaled, double-flowered cultivars closely resembling the nomenclatural type. The single-flowered plants that are found escaping rarely and perhaps naturalizing in the flora area have been called P. lannesiana (Carrière) E. H. Wilson forma albida (Makino) E. H. Wilson or P. speciosa. Based on principal components analysis of 35 morphological characters from 468 individuals of the P. serrulata complex and related taxa, K. S. Chang et al. (2007) argued that forma albida is distinctive and separated from other taxa of the P. serrulata complex. H. Ohba (2001) recognized it at species rank as Cerasus speciosa (Koidzumi) H. Ohba. The classification and nomenclature of Japanese flowering cherries are complex, convoluted, and subject to varying interpretations, and no attempt is made to resolve them here. Centuries of selection and hybridization have blurred species distinctions, and it may be best to do as horticulturalists have and forsake botanical species names in favor of traditional and cultivar names. Whatever the name, these Japanese flowering cherries are widely grown as ornamentals where winters are not too cold nor summers too hot; they escape only rarely and have been found naturalizing only near planted specimens.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Prunus speciosa"
caudate +
Joseph R. Rohrer +
(Koidzumi) Nakai +
dark gray +, gray-brown +, reddish-brown +  and reddish +
compound +  and simple +
opposite +  and alternate +
obtuse +  and rounded +
Prunus jamasakura var. speciosa +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (17 cm170 mm <br />0.17 m <br />) +
elliptic +  and obovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
membranous +  and leathery +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (?) +  and 8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (?) +
free +  and distinct +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
Japanese flowering or Oriental cherry +
solitary +, fascicles +, 2-flowered +  and umbellate +
Calif. +, Mass. +, N.C. +  and e Asia (Japan) +
not +  and aggregated +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
globose +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br />) +
0–200 m +
flattened +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
not +  and aggregated +
not +  and aggregated +
not +  and aggregated +
Disturbed sites, abandoned plantings +
persistent +  and deciduous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
(2-)3-5(-6)-flowered +
crassinucellate +
deciduous +
toothed +  and entire +
inferior +  and superior +
biseriate +  and clustered +
collateral +  and apical +
hairy +  and glabrous +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
pink +  and white +
free +  and distinct +
suborbiculate;oblong-obovate +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
Flowering Apr–May +  and fruiting Jun–Jul. +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) +
not arillate +
free +  and distinct +
spreading +  and reflexed +
oblong-ovate +  and lanceolate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
Introduced +
free +  and distinct +
branched +  and simple +
1 +  and 20 +
linear;lanceolate +
flattened +  and ellipsoid +
deciduous +
distinct +
basal +, lateral +, subterminal +  and terminal +
not elongate +
P. serrulata var. lannesiana +
Prunus speciosa +
species +
aristate +
inconspicuous +
tree +  and not suckering +
hairy +  and glabrous +