Friday, April 23, 2010

Prunus 'Tai-haku'

...Continued from last week's post.

Prunus 'Tai-haku' blossom

(Above and below) Prunus 'Tai-haku', (sometimes written Tae-haku) and also known as Great White Cherry. I wasn't sure about last week's tree because it seemed to be in flower too early. But this one is right on time.

[The usual 'Sato Zakura' flowering sequence is: 1. Shirotae 2. Cheal's Weeping Cherry 3. Hokusai 4. Tai-haku 5. Ukon 6. Kanzan 7. Pink Perfection 8. Amanogawa 9. Shirofugen 10. Shimidsu (aka 'Shimidsu Sakura', 'Shôgetsu')]

Prunus 'Tai-haku' - mature tree

This tree is one of the magnificent line of mixed cherry-trees along the A350 outside the hotel at Beanacre, near Melksham. (Shirotae, Tai-Haku, Kanzan, Shirofugen.) - photos taken 23/04/2010.

Prunus 'Tai-haku' - young tree
This, and the three photos following, were taken on 2/5/2013 at Shaw Village Centre, Swindon.

Prunus 'Tai-haku' - flowers

The unfeasibly large single flowers, as Viz would put it. Noticeably bigger than any other cherry.

Prunus 'Tai-haku' - flower buds
All the 'Sato Zakura' cherries have some sort of kinship to each other, which is usually expressed by reference to the putative parent species Prunus serrulata. That common kinship emerges in the long, serrated leaves. Also, the petals always have a bit of pink in them, even if, as in this case, it only shows in the buds.

Prunus 'Tai-haku' - emerging leaves
Another view, showing the emerging leaves, bracts, and sepals...


*



(Above and below) This tree is at the other end of Beanacre, outside Midway Farm. Wild Cherry (Prunus avium), showing the characteristic system of whorled branches, common in conifers but rather unusual in a broad-leafed species. Unfortunately, this handsome tree is showing a few signs of decline. On the right of the photo below, you can see a large "witch's broom", a hanging frond with crowded early leaves - caused by the fungus Taphrina cerasi, I believe, but arboriculturists may know better.



*

(Below) The next in sequence, Prunus 'Ukon', the blossom opening creamy yellow among brown leaves. A fragrant tree.



And Prunus 'Kanzan' is on its way...

Labels: , ,

2 Comments:

At 7:37 am, Blogger Vincent said...

I'm very glad to see your annual musings about Prunus accompanying your gallery of images. I return from a New World odyssey, battling volcano ash instead of Polyphemus and Sirens, to find (instead of Penelope and the domestic hearth) my own cherry tree (Morel, according to the label when I bought it) in blossom after last year's pruning. Its first crop of cherries consisted of rather ethereal fruit, lacking in density and sweetness. But I imagine a tree has to pass through adolescence before it can reach full maturity.

 
At 10:14 pm, Blogger Michael Peverett said...

I hope you enjoyed Jamaica! I suppose your cherry is a variety of Prunus cerasus (Sour cherry), the fruit with its greater acidity is meant to be good for cooking so perhaps you can make cherry pie...

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Powered by Blogger