A New Confirmation of Cerasus jamasakura var. jamasakura ‘Humilis’, Wakaki-no-sakura

Abstract

A horticultural strain of Cerasus jamasakura (Siebold ex Koidz.) H. Ohba, ‘Wakaki-no-sakura’, was first published by Makino (1906) based on the collections from Sakawa, Kochi Pref. (Prov. Tosa), Shikoku, western Japan. Later it was considered as a cultivar, C. jamasakura var. jamasakura ‘Humilis’ with winter buds developed into mixed shoots producing both flowers and leaves. Currently saplings propagated from the mother tree described by Makino are exclusively planted in gardens because wild trees have not been recognized in the field. However, in Otsuki, Kochi Pref., two individuals with characteristics mixed shoots were discovered among seedlings from a tree named Gekko-zakura in C. jamasakura. The two seedlings with the mixed shoots are ascribed to ‘Wakaki-no-sakura’. Thus it is suggested that a strain ‘Wakaki-no-sakura’ may be a mutant which occurs widely in the region, including Kochi Pref., western Japan.