While some species are purely bred for ornamental purposes, some related species (cherry fruit trees) bear the small, red cherry fruit we all recognize soon after the blooming period.
When I first saw the many blossoming ornamental cherry trees around me, I was immediately entranced by their beauty as pink happens to be one of my favorite colors. They actually came as a surprise. One afternoon, I was on my way to a café to study. By the time I finished in the evening, the previously barren trees on the road were filled with cherry blossoms. I didn’t even know that these trees that I pass every single day had cherry blossoms. They seem to give the surrounding environment a soft, feminine ambiance. Their short bloom period also makes me appreciate them more as it will be another full year before they come back.
The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan. and so it is commonly associated with that country. However, it can also be found in other parts of Asia, including Korea, Nepal, Taiwan and mainland China. Though their original home is Asia, these trees are currently found all over the globe, including in America. In 1912, the mayor of Tokyo, Mayor Yukio Ozaki, gave 3,000 of these seedlings to the U.S. capitol as a symbol of friendship between Japan and the U.S. However, there is debate as to where they first originated. In particular, Japan and Korea each argue vehemently that the cherry blossoms are a native of each country. Koreans insist that cherry blossoms were first cultivated in Jeju Island and that the Japanese stole them when they annexed the country in 1910.
