Kingdom Plantae Family Rosaceae Subgenus Cerasus Higher classification Cerasus | Order Rosales Genus Prunus Scientific name Prunus × yedoensis Rank Species | |
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Similar Prunus serrulata, Prunus speciosa, Prunus campanulata, Winter‑flowering cherry, Prunus sargentii | ||
King cherry (왕벚 wangbeoj, 왕벚나무 wangbeojnamu or 왕벚꽃 wangbeojkkoch, Hanja: 王벚나무) is a Korean native cherry tree originated from Jeju Island. It is a distinct species from Japanese native Yoshino cherry. King cherry is a rare plant and listed as an endangered species. As of 1998, 33 King cherry trees were growing around Mt. Halla in Jeju Island. According to Koidzumi, King cherry is erroneously believed to be discovered by a French missionary Taquet although what he discovered was a different species.
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There have been disputes over the origin of king cherry and Yoshino cherry. In 2007, a study conducted on the comparison of king cherry and Yoshino cherry concluded that these trees were categorized as distinct species. However, in Korea, king cherry is still believed to be the same species as Yoshino cherry. In Korea most of the places for cherry blossom festivals, including Yeouido and Jinhae, are still planted with Japanese Yoshino cherry trees.
Name
In 1901, Yoshino cherry was given a scientific name Prunus Yedoensis by Ninzo Matsumura after its place of origin Yedo (current day Tokyo). In early 1900s, king cherry was thought to be the same species as Yoshino cherry, it is called Prunus yedoensis, the same scientific name as Yoshino cherry. After Ernest Henry Wilson suggested Yoshino cherry is a hybrid between Prunus subhirtella var. ascendens (Edo higan) and Prunus lannesiana (Oshima zakura) in 1916, Yoshino cherry became to be called Prunus × yedoensis. However king cherry still remained to be called Prunus yedoensis which is originally given to Yoshino cherry.
The Korean name wangbeojnamu (왕벚나무, king cherry) was created in 1963 when the Korean official plant resource survey team found three trees, until then it was called sakulanamu (사쿠라나무, sakura) or teolbeojnamu (털벚나무, hair cherry). Wangbeojnamu means "king cherry tree" while wangbeojkkoch means "king cherry blossom". The Korean name wangbeojnamu or wangbeojkkoch does not distinguish Yoshino cherry from king cherry because they have been thought to be the same species. If necessary, Yoshino cherry is referred to as someiyoshino (소메이요시노), a transliteration of a Japanese name for Yoshino cherry.
In 2016, Katsuki et al. proposed a new name Cerasus × nudiflora after King cherry was found to be a hybrid by Cho in 2014.
Characteristics
King cherry is quite rare in number in its habitat. In 1908, a single tree was discovered in the north slope of Mt. Halla near Gwaneumsa Temple by Taquet although according to Koidzumi it was a different species. In 1932, Koidzumi discovered a single tree in the south slope of Mt.Halla. In 1962, the first Korean official plant resource survey team was established and found three trees. Next year in 1963, the team found another three trees. In 1965, Han Chang-yeol reported that wild cherry trees which grow in Mt. Halla in Jeju Island are mostly Prunus subhirtella var. pendula form. ascendens (Edo higan) and Prunus donarium (Yamazakura) and King cherry is rare in number, around 10 individuals, having been found in a half century. In 1998, Kim Chan-soo reported that 33 King cherry trees were found around Mt. Halla.
King cherry is morphologically similar to Yoshino cherry. When Yo Takenaka went to the Juju Island in 1933, He observed that the King cherry's hairs on calyx lobes and on the lower side of leaves were less numerous, and the peduncles were shorter. In 1998, Chan-soo Kim studied the morphological variation on 18 characters in flowers, leaves, fruits, and seeds. Most characters of King cherry were smaller in size than those of Yoshino cherry although the limits of variation of the characters were somewhat wide in King cherry. The most prominent difference is that the calyx tube of Yoshino cherry is cup-shaped, whereas it is wedge-shaped in King cherry, in addition, the inflorescences of Yoshino cherry are corymbose while those of King cherry are umbelliferous.
History
Putative parental species
Cultivation
King cherry is a wild species whose habitats are Hallasan, Jeju Island and Daedunsan, Haenam and is not cultivated yet. Mass propagation is still at an experimental stage. An artificial breeding by the tissue culturing of 40 cherry trees planted in 1996 bloomed in 2003 for the first time.
Natural monument
King cherry tree habitats are designated to the Natural monument. There are three Natural monuments.