The cherry tree is one of the trees belonging to the family Rosaceae, the genus Prunus is similar to plum trees, peaches, or apricots, but in general the cherry is classified in subgenus sakura. The origin of the word "sakura" is the word "pocket" (Japanese for "bloom") plus a suffix denoting the plural "ra". In English, cherry blossoms are called cherry blossoms.
The color of the flower depends on the species, some are white with a hint of pink, light yellow, pink, light green or bright red.
Flowers are classified into 3 types based on the arrangement of crown leaves:
single flower with a layer crown
double flower with layered crown leaves
semi double flower
Cherry blossoms bloom once a year, on the island of Honshu, buds of someiyoshino cherry blossoms begin to appear at the end of winter and the flowers bloom at the end of March until early April when the weather starts to warm.
In Japan, the blooming of someiyoshino cherry starts in Okinawa in February, continued on the western part of Honshu island, to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto in the end of March to the beginning of April, then moves little by little to the north, and ends in Hokkaido during the Golden Week vacation.
Every year the cherry observer issues a map of the movement of the cherry blossoms someiyoshino from west to east and then north called sakurazensen. By using the sakurazensen map you can find out the location of the cherry blossoms that are blooming at a certain time.
