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a faint pink shade. Flower diameter 3.54.0(5.5) cm. Flowers occasionally fragrant. Petals five. There is one pistil, perfect. The calyx is narrow and campanulate, about 5.5 mm long. Sepals are elongated and serrated (sometimes entire). Fruits purple-black, sour. Flowering season is late April. Prunus serrulata var. speciosa has a diploid set of chromosomes (2n = 16). The species is more variable than this description suggests. Prunus serrulata var. spontanea, Japanese Mountain Cherry Prunus serrulata var. spontanea is known in its homeland as yama-zakura ("mountain cherry"). Yama stands for the landscape of steep foothills between the coastal plain of Japan and the more alpine mountains of several thousand meters in central Japan (see Figure 72). This tree is not alpine; it is one of the trees typical of the secondary forests on the hilly yama of southern and western Japan. Most remarkable is the bright red, young foliage that appears with the pinkish buds that expand to white flowers. The spring show of contrasting white and red is magnificent and without equal among other flowering cherries in Japan. Specimens may differ in shape of the tree, in the color of the young foliage, and in the color of the flowers, which can be pink as well. Unique specimens can be found among wild seedlings: trees may have fragrant flowers, pubescent pedicels, or flowers with double the number of petals. In its exhaustive study on flowering cherries, the Flower Association of Japan (1982) described no less than twenty-seven cultivated forms, some of which have double flowers. Miyoshi (1916) distinguished, named, and described more than a hundred forms. On the other side of the Japan Sea, Korea has its set of classic selections. None of these selections is in cultivation in the West. The Japanese mountain cherry is rarely seen in Europe or North America, because gardeners tend to overlook botanic species when planting a foreign and exotic tree. Yet, this cherry cannot be praised enough: it is healthy, vigorous, and profusely bloomingsomething even more spectacular when its size is considered. Its small, single flowers contrast charmingly with the red-brown young foliage that heralds the warmer days of spring. Mature leaves show a fine, acute, and single serration, and a glaucous underside. The bracts and bractlets are usually conspicuous red at the height of blossoming. Compared to other flowering cherries, this one is