Identification: 'Ichiyo' - Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

Discussion in 'Ornamental Cherries' started by wcutler, Apr 14, 2007.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I think we've settled on 'Ichiyo' in the responses below. This thread also has some definitions of flower parts.

    What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

    This is a fairly large, spreading densely branched tree with green leaves. The flowers are light salmony pink, with a double layer of petals. They look similar to Takasago blooms when the centres are still green, but the tree shape is very different. I found three pairs of these trees in Vancouver's West End. Photos were taken April 14, 2007, and the third photo is from a different pair.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 23, 2007
  2. Douglas Justice

    Douglas Justice Well-Known Member UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late seaso

    This tree looks like 'Ichiyo' (commonly known as 'Hisakura', but see Kuitert's explanation on why it should be called 'Ichiyo'); however, it is difficult from the images to see the characteristic leafy "phylloid" attached to the "mostly two styles clearly visible," which should protrude from the corolla (the text of Arie Peterse's cherry key in Kuitert says "protruding from the calyx," but this is clearly nonsensical).

    There is quite a lot of discussion in cherry books about this feature, but there is also a lot of disagreement about how common are both multiple styles and phylloid appendages on them. For example, Collingwood Ingram, in his classic 1948 Ornamental Cherries (Country Life, London) writes that "this feature is not a constant one." I often find it incredibly frustrating and difficult to identify many of the lesser known cherries, particularly when so easily led astray by such evidently variable features. Unfortunately, one gets the impression, when relying on a single reference (as authoritative as some people may give it credit for) that certain characters are constant or obvious. On wider reading, one finds that many features are just not so.

    Chadbund (Flowering Cherries, Collins, 1972) notes that this tree is "very strong and vigorous and of upright spreading habit... Its vigour and uniformity are very pronounced." That certainly fits the picture, but he says of 'Ichiyo' that "the pale bronze hue of the young foliage enhances the refined beauty and purity of the soft malmaison-pink blossoms." Coo! So the leaves should be bronzy at first, but these look green.
     
  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

    OK, it's me, novice cherry scout here. I'll be happy to take pictures of the leafy "phylloid" and those other things you mentioned if you tell me what they are. Or is that the little half petal thing that I'm resolutely not learning the name of but have heard you mention? Is it visible in the attached photo? These trees are the most beautiful shade of pale salmony white, but they look quite mauvy in my photos.

    Yesterday I came across the name 'Ichiyo' somewhere with a photo that showed magenta centres, so I got concerned that my Takasagos were really 'Ichiyo', but I checked them and they have blossoms with both green centres and magenta ones.
     

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  4. Douglas Justice

    Douglas Justice Well-Known Member UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late seaso

    A phylloid is a leaf-like outgrowth on the carpel. The carpel (also known as the pistil) is the structure in the flower that includes the ovary (which encloses a chamber where the ovules are borne--once fertilized, the ovules become seeds), style (the elongated portion above the ovary) and stigma (pollen receptive extension of the style, which, in cherries, is bulb-like or somewhat flattened). The presence of a phylloid (or phylloids) is often characteristic of some cherry cultivars. In general, a phylloid looks like a tiny mis-shapen leaf at the centre of the flower.

    The female parts of the flower are surrounded by stamens. Stamens are composed of anthers (pollen sacs), which are perched atop fine filaments. Sometimes, the filament extends beyond the anthers, as in 'Pink Perfection' and 'Kanzan'. A common feature of many flowering cherries is the presence of staminodes (sometimes called petaloids). These are stamens, which (for whatever reason) have mutated into incomplete petals. In fact, stamens and petals are very similar tissues. You can often see the remnants of anthers in the twisted tissues of a staminode. Note that in general, the more petals in a "double" flower the fewer stamens there are.

    With respect to flower colour, I'm afraid I don't put much stock in photographs. According to my wife, I'm sometimes completely colour-blind. The point is, colour reproduction is variable and description is subjective. What the hell is malmaison-pink, for example? Do we have a have a good sense of that particular shade? Not likely, but it sure sounds good, doesn't it? The quality and intensity of light, shading, temperature, emergence from the buds and developmental age all have an effect on flower colour. I don't know about you, but as my descriptive vocabulary grows, my critical faculties are probably declining.
     
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

    A.L. Jacobson (Trees of Seattle - Second Edition) mentions 'Ichiyo' in this manner only:

    "[Some trees look like 'Temari' except they have in every flower-center a tiny leaflike organ. The name 'Hisakura' may be applicable to these, but if their only difference from 'Temari' is one requiring close examination, it seems pointless to give them a separate name. Arboretum #206-70 is 14' x 1'3" under a Vineleaf maple in 12-3E. It had been received as 'Shogetsu', but was relabeled 'Sumizome', then 'Ichiyo'.]"

    About Japanese flowering cherries generally Jacobson says (in part):

    "In Seattle these trees are well known. Twenty different cultivars are treated in this guide. Probably 90% of the whole population consists of the ubiquitous 'Kwanzan'--the pink-flowered, gaudy cotton-candy cherry tree planted by the thousands here....

    Learning to recognize all kinds is formidable, but any tree-enthusiast should be able to identify the 6 or 7 most common ones. The Arboretum collection, though well-stocked (17 kinds) is not representative of Seattle as a whole."

    http://www.arthurleej.com/p-o-m-April05.html
     
  6. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

    This is a response to Doug's comment about Ichiyo leaves being bronze. The Japan-Guide site says "The fresh leaves are green." I often wondered why I had trouble telling if leaves were bronze or green, thinking that surely should be obvious, but I see that I have good company. The colour now is what I would call eggshell pink, or maybe pink eggshell<grin>.

    The University of Washington tree tour page on Hisakura describes that as "a restrained kwanzan". I don't think I wanted to hear that! I am at least not confusing these trees with Kanzans, so if they're supposed to look like them, then maybe it's not the right tree, but until I saw that, Ichiyo sounded pretty good.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2007
  7. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late season

    "Tree tour text: Arthur Lee Jacobson"
     
  8. Douglas Justice

    Douglas Justice Well-Known Member UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society 10 Years

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    Re: What cherry? Double salmony pinks, green leaves, dense spreading tree, late seaso

    I basically agree with Jacobson on 'Hisakura' (sic) looking like a restrained 'Kanzan'. In habit, everything that the best-grown 'Kanzan' is--strong, upright and spreading--is repeated in 'Ichiyo', but with elegance and restraint in both individual branching and overall form. 'Kanzan' is overly vigorous, puffed up with its own importance, as it were. The flower colour of 'Ichiyo' is subtle and the flowers are dainty and whimsical, while those of 'Kanzan' are coarse, vulgar (in colour) and overly abundant, in comparison. Speaking of 'Ichiyo', the picture of 'Edo-zakura' in my Davidsonia article is surely 'Ichiyo'. It is an old image and I was unable to recheck the tree when I wrote the article. Mea culpa.
     
  9. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Honestly, I can't remember if this is the same tree as the previous one or if it's the one a block away, but it shows the curly sepals. Is it this tree on which those are supposed to be characteristic?
     

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  10. Douglas Justice

    Douglas Justice Well-Known Member UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society 10 Years

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    When were these photos taken?
     
  11. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    The photos in the previous post were taken on April 17.
     
  12. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    It may be important that both Jacobson (1996) - who does not even have a full entry for 'Ichiyo' - and Kuitert (1999) appear to indicate that trees encountered in North America wouldn't be likely to belong to 'Ichiyo'.

    Jacobson: 'Hisakura' has long been incorrectly called 'Ichiyo' in the West, where the name 'Hisakura' has been used for P. 'Chosu-hisakura' and P. 'Kwanzan' and possibly for others.

    Kuitert: ...rarely planted in Western countries...
     
  13. ymclean

    ymclean Member

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    Barbara Day and I went last evening to see two trees which certainly fit the description(s) that we have read of Ichiyo. We are not equipped to photograph, but these trees, which are now in full blossom, are on either side of the pathway of a building at 809 West 41st Avenue. Perhaps someone else has seen them recently and could comment.
     
  14. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Here they are, in the South Cambie neighbourhood blog (north side of 41st), posted as Ichiyo.
     
  15. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Since this seems to be our ID thread for 'Ichiyo' or what we've been identifying as 'Ichiyo', I'm adding some photos from a young tree at VanDusen with this label. Flowers measured 4cm to 4.5cm, late flowers are white (before going pink in the centre), peduncles 1.5cm, very short in comparison to the long pedicels.

    I see the title says "green leaves". When the flowers emerge, the leaves have had a bronzy tinge, at least this year.
     

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