Higan cherry (Cerasus subhirtella) profile

Higan cherry (Cerasus subhirtella), also called winter-flowering cherry, spring cherry, Higan cherry, or rosebud cherry, is a variety of Rosaceae cherry subdivisions. Higan cherry is a tree, 3-10 m tall, grayish-brown bark. Branchlets are gray, shoots green, densely white pubescent. Winter bud is ovate, scale apex has sparsely hairy. Leaf-blade is ovate to oblong, oval 3-6 cm long, 1.5 3 cm wide, apex abruptly acuminate, base broadly cuneate, thin sharp edge and heavy blade type, the dark green, glabrous or midrib FuSheng sparsely pilose, light green, below FuSheng thin white pilose, especially on veins, after shedding between sparse, lateral veins straight out, several parallels, there are 10-14 to; Petiole of Higan cherry is 5 -- 8 mm long, white pubescent; Stipules are brown, very narrow, linear, shorter than petiole, margin sparsely glandular teeth.

Higan cherry picture

Higan cherry info

Botanical Name	Prunus subhirtella
Common Names	winter-flowering cherry, spring cherry, Higan cherry, or rosebud cherry
Plant Type	flowering tree
Sun	Full sun and partial shade
Hardiness Zones	5–8
Soil	acidic, moist, loamy, well-drained and clay soils
Native Range	Non-native
Mature size	height of 20–30' and a spread of 15–30'

Morphological characteristics of Higan cherry

Branch

Higan cherry is a deciduous large tree, 25 m high, large branches transverse, branchlets erect or pendulous.

Leaf

The leaves of Higan cherry have alternate stalks, long elliptic, apex has a slender tip, base cuneate, margin has sharp serrate, 4 ~ 9 cm long, 2 ~ 4 cm wide, young leaves, leaves with soft hairs, late March to early April, leaves earlier than flowers. Flowers of higan cherry are pale reddish-white, composed of several flowers in umbels, pedicle long, calyx and style hairs; Calyx is tubular, upper five-lobed, petals 5, concave head, horizontal spread, stamens many, pistil 1.

Flowers

The inflorescence of Higan cherry is umbellate, have 2-3 flowers, the same leaves open; Involucral bracts are obovate, ca. 4 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, outside sparsely pubescent, caducous; Pedicels are 1 -- 2 cm long, sparsely pilose; Calyx is tubular, slightly ampullate, 4 -- 5 mm long and 2 -- 3 mm wide, slightly enlarged at base, slightly diminished at the neck, voluminous white pubescent outside, sepals oblong-ovate, apex acute, sparsely toothed, nearly as long as calyx tube; Petals of Higan cherry are reddish, obovate oblong, apex concave; Stamens ca. are 20; Style is sparsely hairy at base.

Fruit

Drupe of Higan cherry is ovoid, black of pendulous branches, large leaves early; The nuclear surface is slightly ribbed; Fruit pedicels are 1.5 -- 2.5 cm long, spread pubescent, apical slightly swollen.

Variety classification of Higan cherry

The difference between Higan cherry and the former variety is that the branches develop into a curved bow shape, and the twigs droop into whip shape; Calyx tube sub smooth glabrous.

The distribution area of Higan cherry

Higan cherry is distributed in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Sichuan and other provinces.

Higan cherry is cultivated in Taiwan Province.