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III IMPROVEMENT OF FLOWER CHARACTER IN CHERRIES

Cherry trees possess innate mutability. If we seek traces of this natural mutability in Yama-zakura, or mountain cherries that grow in mountains or forests, we find that they are not uniform in the colour of their young foliage, the size of their flowers, the shape of their petals, and in other respects, but they are different in various individuals although the trees belong to one and the same species. When the wild cherry trees are cultivated, the degree of this natural mutability in the offsprings of the trees becomes more remarkable. The trees with single flowers will sometimes bear double flowers. Some trees will even produce fragrant flowers.

In Sato-zakura, or domestic cherries, the tendency of this innate mutability is much more pronounced. The flowers of the seed-plants are larger in size and richer in colour than those of the parent trees, with a greater number of petals. In some instances, the flowers have a stronger fragrance. The traces of mutability are very frequently found in Higan-zakura (equinox cherries), Shidare-zakura (weeping cherries) and Fuji-zakura (Fuji cherries) mentioned elsewhere. Somei-Yoshino (Somei cherries) have a lower degree of mutability. The richness of mutability accounts for the abundance of the natural and garden varieties of Japanese cherry trees.