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half-opened among buds that are at the brink of bursting. At this time the large buds are soft pink with darker stripes. The flowers, about 5 cm in diameter, appear in tight bunches on the spurs at the end of the twigs. This way of flowering makes 'Okiku-zakura' sensitive to brown rot in damp or rainy weather, and in regions with wet springs this affliction can be considered characteristic for this cherry. Ingram (1929, 1948) named this cherry Prunus serrulata 'Okiku' and described it as ugly and beautiful at the same time. Without any mercy he compared it with "a beautifully dressed and heavily beringed woman of an uncertain age and unattractive figure." Indeed the barely ramifying, bare skeleton of 'Okiku-zakura' contrasts violently with the perfectly shaped flowers. In Ingram's description the sepals are finely serrated, something that is not always seen on every flower. Ingram reported that 'Ito-kukuri' resembles 'Okiku-zakura' but has fewer petals. The 12mm long buds of 'Ito-kukuri' are more spherical than
Figure 151 'Okiku-zakura', most beautiful just before the flowers open. Photo by Arie Peterse, 7 May 1986, Wageningen Botanic Gardens of the Agricultural University, Netherlands.