Prunus

In particular the group known as the Sato-Zakura or Japanese Cherries. This collection is an important one at Batsford giving a mass of spring colour with the blossoms and unfurling leaves. In the autumn the leaves colour up with saturated reds, russets and yellows. Sato-Zakura means village cherry alluding to the fact that these plants have been bred and cultivated in Japan for centuries, so long in fact that the parentage is almost totally obscure. As a group they are often very beautiful. They are also very variable in size, colour and flower form. The earliest cultivars bloom in March and the last in May, giving a long season of colour. Wild Japanese Cherries sometimes carry the name Jama-Zakura meaning mountain cherry.