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By the way, the modern botanic identity of P. pseudo-cerasus Lindley has been questioned in the West, but is clearly established with Lindley's herbarium type, shown with a description in Miyoshi (1916). More extensive descriptions are found in the Flower Association of Japan (1982) and Kawasaki (1994). Apart from early sources such as the chronicles, cherries are mentioned in poetry. In reality, the plant that inspired the poets most of all was the Chinese plum, Prunus mume, which had been introduced with its literary meaning in these early centuries of Japanese civilization. Famous poets, however, also wrote about cherry flowers in a different imagery that assures
Figure 7 The downy cherry (Prunus tomentosa) is believed to have been among the earliest plant imports to Japan. It is an easy garden plant, producing many delicious fruits that disappear even before a proper photo can be taken. Photo by author, 5 August 1997, Obihiro.