Identification: Single whites - a comparison

Discussion in 'Ornamental Cherries' started by wcutler, Apr 9, 2012.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Let's see how far I can get on this before I have to leave in 15 minutes. This is a good time to sort out cherries with single white blossoms, because there are a lot of them in bloom right now. At the edge of Stanley Park and around the golf course, you can see at least a half dozen.

    These trees are all in the same little glen just north of the heronry outside the Parks Board office at the edge of the Park at Pendrell/Comox.

    'Pandora'

    The tree is does not have the usual beautiful wide goblet shape that this cultivar can take, but you can see the narrowness of the petals, which means that they do not overlap once they're fully open.
    TreeShapes_Pandora_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_HeronryGlen_Pandora_Cutler_P1200364.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlen_Pandora_Cutler_P1200367.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlen_Pandora_Cutler_P1200369.jpg

    Sargentii hybrid

    These trees have a sort-of round, nondescript shape, or worse. Anne Eng, in a neighbourhood posting, pointed out that they almost always have two flowers to an inflorescence, and the stems seem quite thick relative to other cherries. Flowers are very white once they're open.
    TreeShapes_SargentiiHybrid_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_HeronryGlen_SargentiiHybrid_Cutler_P1200370.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlen_SargentiiHybrid_Cutler_P1200374.jpg

    'Somei-yoshino'

    These often have three or four flowers to an inflorescence, petals a bit more rounded than some others, so there are nice stars in the centre, and the stems have hairs. Flowers are very white at peak bloom.
    TreeShapes_Somei-yoshino_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_HeronryGlen_Somei-yoshino_Cutler_P1200375.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlen_Somei-yoshino_Cutler_P1200379.jpg

    (Unknown)

    Well, not totally easy. I thought this was yama-zakura, but the leaves look like they're going to be coarsely or double-serrated like our Sargentii hybrids. This and the one a block away generally have three flowers per inflorescence, though, and the stems don't seem as thick.
    TreeShapes_Unknown_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_HeronryGlenComox_Unknown1_Cutler_P1200381.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlenComox_Unknown1_Cutler_P1200382.jpg
    20120409_HeronryGlenComox_Unknown1_Cutler_P1200393.jpg 20120409_HeronryGlenComox_Unknown1_Cutler_P1200395.jpg
    Here's another that I think is the same, a block away at the foot of Nelson.
    20120409_ParkAtNelson_Unknown2_Cutler_P1200397.jpg 20120409_ParkAtNelson_Unknown2_Cutler_P1200398.jpg 20120409_ParkAtNelson_Unknown2_Cutler_P1200399.jpg 20120409_ParkAtNelson_Unknown2_Cutler_P1200405.jpg

    That's it for now. 'Akebono', 'Umineko', 'Snow Goose' and a couple of others in another posting later.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2012
  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Part 2. It's not like we needed more definitions. The point of this is to encourage people who rant like I used to do about all these single white blossoms looking the same to come see a bunch of them that are near each other and that are open at the same time. I'm only mentioning in the descriptions characteristics that help me recognize them.

    'Akebono'

    Except for very young trees, these have a nice graceful horizontal appearance. Pedicels have hairs, and sometimes the blossoms are a bit larger than 'Somei-yoshino' and sometimes they have an extra petaloid or staminode in the centre of the blossom. This occurs fairly often in some trees, and seemingly once per 1000 flowers in other trees. The last photo is taken outside the park, at Nicola and Alberni. I'm including it to show that 'Akebono' can look quite white, but just briefly, when they're at peak bloom.
    TreeShapes_Akebono_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_ParkDrNelson_Akebono_Cutler_P1200411.jpg 20120409_ParkDrNelson_Akebono_Cutler_P1200415.jpg 20120409_NicolaAlberni_Akebono_Cutler_P1200531.jpg

    The next trees are along the Rhododendron Path on the other side of the Pitch and Putt golf course from the previous tree locations.

    'Umineko'

    Well, the Stanley Park trees look nothing like the ideal shape for 'Umineko', but we're pretty sure that's what this is, on the Rhododendron Path at the other side of the bike path along Lost Lagoon. The petals are very round, creating large stars when they're back-lit. Green leaves emerge with the flowers. Flowers are very white.
    TreeShapes_Umineko_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_RhodyPath_Umineko_Cutler_P1200473.jpg 20120409_RhodyPath_Umineko_Cutler_P1200475.jpg

    'Snow Goose'

    These trees line the path thru Ceperley Meadow. There are others just inside the golf course fence near the 'Umineko' trees. These young trees have a very upright shape, but they should grow up to be the same shape as 'Umineko'. These have the same parents as 'Umineko', except that the male/female parentage is reversed, and they look identical, far as I can tell. The ones with Parks Board tags saying 'Snow Goose' and others the same size, I call 'Snow Goose'. The old ones I call 'Umineko'. Anything in between, whichever name I thought of first is what I'd probably use.
    20120409_CeperleyMeadow_SnowGoose_Cutler_P1200453.jpg 20120409_CeperleyMeadow_SnowGoose_Cutler_P1200454.jpg 20120409_CeperleyMeadow_SnowGoose_Cutler_P1200457.jpg

    The last two locations are nearby in the West End.

    'Sendai-shidare'

    These are pendulous trees. The only ones I've seen have had tortuous limbs. Very white flowers about the same size as 'Somei-yoshino' with long very thin sepals. This tree is at Haro and Chilco; another two are on Comox east of Chilco.
    20120409_HaroChilco_Sendai-shidare_Cutler_P1200497.jpg 20120409_HaroChilco_Sendai-shidare_Cutler_P1200502.jpg

    'Spire'

    Narrow goblet shape, usually seen with skinny branches on a much thicker trunk. Bronze leaves emerge with the flowers. Bud scales are sticky. This tree is on Comox at Cardero.
    TreeShapes_Spire_Cutler_P1200534.JPG 20120409_ComoxCardero_Spire_Cutler_P1200520.jpg 20120409_ComoxCardero_Spire_Cutler_P1200525.jpg 20120409_ComoxCardero_Spire_Cutler_P1200526.jpg
     
  3. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I think my single whites doesn't suit any of this cherries. No smell, no hair, sticky. What it can be?
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2012
  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I'm assuming you mean "not sticky". I just realized how big these flowers are - 5cm, a lot larger than the others. That should be 'Tai Haku' - "great white cherry". In an email, you mentioned the dark leaves - they should be more evident as more blossoms open. I saw one in Kitsilano today.

    This tree shape is a bit strange for 'Tai Haku', but young tree shapes often confuse me.
     
  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Since this was a sort-of West End walking tour of single whites, and since Nadia has added 'Tai Haku' here, I'll add that there are two of them on Nelson, south side, between Gilford and Chilco.

    Prunus avium

    I should also mention these sweet cherries or mazzard cherries, which is so often used as the rootstock for our ornamental cherries. They're very pretty, but we're not considering them ornamentals and are not putting them on the map or encouraging anyone to report them (unless you can't help yourself - some of them are exceptionally nice). They typically have tall straight trunks and are big trees. The giveaway is the broad and rounded sepals that are curled back, so that instead of a star on the back of the flowers, there's a small disc. Usually, they form rather large balls of blossoms. This one is on the south side of Comox, between Denman and Gilford.

    There are a lot of sweet cherry cultivars, and these vary in shape and in blossom size.
    20070401_ComoxDenman_Avium_Cutler_12.jpg 20070401_ComoxDenman_Avium_Cutler_13.jpg 20070401_ComoxDenman_Avium_Cutler_06.jpg 20070401_ComoxDenman_Avium_Cutler_08.jpg
     
  6. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Yes, different leaves from yama-zakura. Coarsely serrated. The tree looked totally different from the admittedly younger Sargentii hybrids close by, but Sargentii species trees can look so different from each other that I suppose its hybrids can also look different.

    Still, we mean a very specific-looking tree when we speak of the Sargentii hybrids around town, and it doesn't seem to be the same as this.
     

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