Sakura, the Japanese national flower

Sakura (桜, 樱?) Along with chrysanthemums, the Japanese national flower that blooms in spring, which is about the beginning of April until the end of April.

Sakura can be seen everywhere in Japan, shown in a wide range of consumer goods, including kimono, stationery, and kitchen equipment. For the Japanese, the cherry is an important symbol, which is often associated with women, life, death, and also a symbol for human bond mengeksperesikan, courage, sadness, and joy. Sakura is also a metaphor for characteristics that are not eternal life.

Cherry tree is one of the trees belonging to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus is similar to a plum tree, peach, or apricot, but generally fall within Subgenus sakura sakura. The origins of the word "sakura" is the word "pocket" (Japanese for "flower") plus the suffix which states the plural "ra". In English, called cherry blossoms cherry blossoms.

Flower color depending on the species, there is white with a little pink, yellow, pink, light green or red light.

Flower classified into 3 types based on the composition of the leaf crown:

* A single flower with a layer of petals
* Double flowers with layered petals
* Semi-double flowers

Flowering cherry trees once a year, on the island of Honshu, cherry flower buds begin to appear someiyoshino species in late winter and flowers bloom in late March to early April when the weather began to warm.

In Japan, the flowering cherry species from Okinawa someiyoshino begins in February, resumed on the island of Honshu to the west, arrived at Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto at around late March to early April, then move gradually to the north, and ending in Hokkaido in Golden Week holidays.

Every year analysts map out the movement sakura cherry blossoms blooming someiyoshino from west to east and north called sakurazensen. Using known map locations sakurazensen can cherry blossoms in full bloom at a particular moment.

Characteristic

Sakura characteristic is the interest species someiyoshino earlier bloom before the leaves begin to come out. Tens, hundreds, even thousands of trees that are in the same location, the flowers begin to bloom in unison and fall one by one at almost the same time.

Someiyoshino of cherry blossoms can last only approximately 7 to 10 days calculated from the flower buds begin to open until the flowers begin to fall. Cherry blossoms collapse depends on weather conditions and is often precipitated by heavy rains and strong winds. Some birds are known to eat the flowers that taste sweet, whereas pigeons eat all the flowers.

Rare opportunity rollicking picnic under the cherry trees to enjoy the flowering of cherry blossoms is called hanami (ohanami). We do hanami is when all the cherry trees in a place all the flowers are blooming.

In Japan there are standards to inform the cherry blossoms bloom, starting from the opening of flower buds (kaika), 10% of the flowering buds in the tree (ichibuzaki) until the flowers bloom all (mankai). Flowers falling out soon replaced by young leaves. Cherry tree that flowers begin to fall out and begin to grow new leaves as much as 10% called ichibu hazakura. Meanwhile, the cherry trees are all the flowers had fallen out and only have the young leaves is called hazakura (cherry leaf).

Flowers of the tree species yamazakura slower than blossom type someiyoshino and flowers bloomed as his young leaves.