Cerasus ×amedama

Japanese name: アメダマザクラ （飴玉桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus ×amedama

[Overview]
A small deciduous tree presumed to be a hybrid between Mame-zakura and Oshima-zakura.
The leaves are simple and alternate, elliptic to obovate, 3–8 cm long and 2.5–4.5 cm wide, with a margin bearing slightly notched single or double teeth that end in an awn.
The leaf tip is pointed and the base is rounded.
The upper surface has sparse hairs on the veins, sometimes over the whole surface, while the underside and petiole are hairless.
The flowers are borne in umbels arising from the leaf axils; they are white, 5-petaled, and bloom in early April.
The petals are about 1.6 cm long, round or flattened-round, with irregular wrinkles.
The flower stalk is 1–7 mm long, and the secondary flower stalks are thick, 1.5–2 cm long, and hairless.
The calyx tube is tinged with reddish purple, cylindrical and hairless, and the calyx lobes are rhombic-broadly ovate with teeth.

[History]
It was discovered in Manazuru, Kanagawa, by Tetsuya Kawasaki, and was initially regarded as a coastal form of Mame-zakura.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained place.
If it becomes a problem by growing into a large tree in a garden, it is good to limit the space available to the roots with a fabric pot to control the size of the tree.
While it is a young tree, protect it from frost by spreading straw around the base.
Also, it is better not to cut branches needlessly.
It suffers from many pests and diseases, so caution is needed.

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