What is the difference between cherry blossom trees and cherry trees
Cherry blossom is the collective name for several plants in the genus Cerasus of the rose family, while cherry is the collective name for certain plants in the genus Prunus. Many people who are unclear about this think that cherries are the fruit borne by cherry blossom trees, but in fact the cherry blossoms we see most of the time and the cherries we eat are not the same species. Let us take a look below at the difference between cherry blossom trees and cherry trees!
The relationship between cherry blossom trees and cherry trees
Cherry blossom trees and cherry trees actually belong to the same family, and are quite closely related, both being plants in the genus Cerasus of the subfamily Prunoideae of the rose family. Cherry blossoms can be divided into two types, single-petaled and double-petaled. The single-petaled type can bloom and bear fruit, while the double-petaled type mostly does not bear fruit. Cherry blossom is the flower of the cherry tree, and is different from cherry blossom [ornamental]. The fruit of the cherry tree is the edible cherry, which in Cantonese is called chelizi, a name derived from the transliteration of cherries, the plural of the English word cherry, while the fruit of the cherry blossom tree is called cherry blossom fruit.
The uses of cherry blossom trees and cherry trees
In terms of use, the cherry is a fruit tree, while the cherry blossom is an ornamental flowering plant. In terms of appearance, flowering period and other aspects, the two also differ. The cherry is a small tree, relatively short in stature, with an early flowering period in early March; the flowers are white tinged with pink, smaller and more densely clustered than cherry blossoms, and it bears fruit after flowering, the fruit being the fruit cherry familiar to city dwellers, red when ripe. The cherry blossom is a tree, relatively tall, with a flowering period in late March to early April; the flowers are white or pink, and although some cultivars of cherry blossom do bear fruit, the fruit is very small, very astringent in the mouth, and almost inedible.
The naming of cherry blossom trees and cherry trees
From the perspective of plant naming, “cherry blossom” has been the customary Chinese name for this type of plant (cherry blossom) since ancient times. Therefore, in the Flora of China, this type of plant is named ×× cherry, with some plants of the subgenus Cerasus called ×× cherry and some called ×× cherry blossom; the flowers that this type of plant produces are what we now prefer to call cherry blossoms, and this is the root of the misunderstanding.
The flowering periods of cherry blossom trees and cherry trees
In terms of flowering time, the cherry is a tree species that blooms in early spring, with flowers opening before the leaves grow, and its flowering period is similar to that of the white magnolia and earlier than that of cherry blossom. Since the flowers of the cherry and those of the cherry blossom are rather similar, and both open before the leaves grow, quite a few visitors mistake one for the other. In fact, cherry blossom is the flower of the cherry tree, and cherry blossom [ornamental] is the flower of the cherry blossom tree.