Over several centuries, however, humans have carefully cultivated cherry blossom trees to produce large, bright flowers without fruit. Today, most of the trees we enjoy are hybrids, or crosses between multiple species, that humans selected because of their beauty.
Interestingly, though, cherry blossom trees don’t all bloom at once. Instead, blossoms appear over a period of several weeks. In Korea, the first trees bloom in the south, where it is typically warmer and more humid, and the last trees bloom in the North, where it is cooler and drier. Because of these differences, many cities have their own distinct cherry blossom festivals throughout March and April.
Like most plants, cherry blossom trees are affected by climate change. Throughout East Asia, rising temperatures have caused the plants to bloom weeks earlier than they did just a few centuries ago. Moreover, because of human breeding, most of the cherry blossom trees that we enjoy today share the same genetic characteristics. As a result, they are at risk of falling prey to pests and disease. What do you think humans should do to protect this beautiful— and valuable— part of our natural world?
