Prunus × yedoensis 'Akebono'
Common name:
Akebono Yoshino Cherry
Somei-yoshino
Pronunciation:
PROO-nus yed-o-EN-sis
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
'Daybreak'
'Amerika'
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf deciduous tree, 25 ft (8 m) high, spreading to an equal width. Leaves alternate, simple, oval, 6-10 cm long, 4-6.5 cm wide, doubly serrate, dark green above. Flowers a soft pink, single, (although some references, Dirr, p. 666, list it as double or semi-double).
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5 The W.B. Clarke Nursery in San Jose, California selected a seedling of Prunus x yedoensis (which occationally sets seeds) and introduced it in about 1925 as 'Akebono'.
- The species (Prunus × yedoensis) apparently constitutes the majority of the flowering cherry trees of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., where 900 were planted in 1912. They were a gift of the mayor of Tokyo. The flowers of P. × yedoensis are a light pink in the bud, but almost white when expanded. In the 1930s, William Clarke of the W.B. Clarke Nursery in San Jose, made available the seedling selection of P. × yedoensis 'Akebono' (meaning daybreak in Japanese) for planting around the Tidal Basin. The flowers of 'Akebono' are soft-pink. 'Akebono' is named 'Amerika' in Japan (Kuitert, 1999).
- A weeping form of the Prunus × yedoensis is also available ('Shidare Yoshino', 'Pendula').
- Corvallis: on Jackson Ave. between 6th St. and 7th St., north of the Library.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: southwest corner Memorial Union.
Click image to enlarge
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flower buds
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opening flowers
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plant habit, spring flowering
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Oregon Capitol Mall, Salem
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Oregon Capitol Mall, Salem
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flowering branches
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flower clusters
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flower clusters
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flower
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flower
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flowers at petal fall
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leaves, summer
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Oregon Capitol Mall, Salem, fall
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leaves, fall
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twigs and buds, comparison
