Page 352
"colored court-robes" and refers to the green, white, and purple found in robes of the women at the imperial court in ancient Japan. The petals are grass-green in color with a contrasting narrow, white stripe, occasionally provided with an extra pink stroke. Miyoshi (1916) named this cultivar Prunus serrulata f. tricolor, referring to the three colors. The flowers appear a little later than those of 'Ukon', and they are a curiosity. When expanded, the outer petals are reflexed, resulting in a not-so beautiful flower shape. Seen from a distance, the flowers are so green that the vase-shaped tree does not seem to be in bloom. Nonetheless, this cherry is a necessity for the collector and, as there are many collectors, it is not rare. 'Gyoiko' has a diploid set of chromosomes (2n = 16). Some trees reportedly have grown a chimerical branch with 'Ukon' flowers. 'Washi-no-o' Washi-no-o ("eagle's tail") was the name of a hillside in the city of , which was famous for its cherries from the thirteenth to about the end of the fifteenth century. The hillside was south of the present-day Maruyama Park, which is now famous for its large weeping cherries. The hillside has become a built-up part of the town known as . The cherry 'Washi-no-o' is an old cultivar and was named after the hillside. It was described in the (Flower bed catalog) of 1681 and appears since then in old lists of cherries. Miyoshi described it as Prunus serrulata f. arguta in 1916. In Japan one finds it as P. lannesiana 'Washinowo'. It was a favorite among the export products of the Yokohama Nursery Company from the late nineteenth century until about the 1930s. It is rarely lacking in collections outside Japan, although there are better cultivars that deserve to be planted as often as 'Washi-noo'. It is a healthy plant with a vigorous and robust growth. The flowers are usually single, and the inflorescences with three to four flowers are set on a short peduncle. The petals can be large, about 2 cm as a rule, but Sano IV (1961) speaks even of 3.2 cm. The petals give a waxy, sturdy impression; they have wrinkled undulations in the surface, and the edges are wavy, retuse, or unevenly divided. They are reminiscent of the petals of 'Ariake', and for both of these triploids an influence of 'Mazakura' has been suggested by Kawasaki (1994).