Species of Japan - The Edo Higan (江戸彼岸) Cherry Tree (Prunus subhirtella)

The Edo Higan cherry blossom tree is so widespread throughout Japan, that it is commonly a part of my annual Cherry Blossom photo workshops as well as my annual Hokkaido winter photo tour.  The trees have the name ‘Edo’ for a previously used name for Japan’s capital, Tokyo, and ’higan’ in Japanese, which means ‘solstice’ because they typically bloom close to the spring equinox every year.  The species was, of course, first found in the wild, and is considered the ‘traditional’ Japanese cherry blossom tree, but several cultivars have been developed from the original wild species.  Depending on the cultivar, the tree can be a more upright and elegant form, or if the weeping cultivar, a more rounded, sweeping branch and tree appearance.  The tree's height and spread vary depending on the cultivar, but the original Edo Higan is designated as medium-sized, reaching 20 - 30 ft (6 - 9 m) tall and 15 - 30 ft (4 - 9 m) when the tree is fully matured.  The blossoms themselves start with an intense pink, turning pale, and then almost white before they flutter to the ground at the end of cherry blossom season every year.  The blossoms are not considered yaezakura, or double blossoming sakura, rather they are classified as semi-double, with commonly 10 petals per bloom.  The original Edo Higan cherry blossoms carry a round, swollen calyx, and the hybrids and following cultivars have essentially the same shape.