Japan is giving the United States 250 new cherry trees to help replace the hundreds that are being ripped out this summer as construction crews work to repair the crumbling seawall around the capital’s Tidal Basin.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement as President Joe Biden welcomed him to the White House on Wednesday for an official visit and state dinner. Biden said the gift is meant to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in 2026, adding, “Like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring and thriving.”
In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River’s Tidal Basin. They were part of the 3,000 such trees Japan gave the U.S. in a symbol of the two countries’ friendship.
They aren’t the same type of tree, though. Cherry blossoms don’t grow cherries you can put in a pie.
Both kinds of trees have blossoms. Granted, people do call ornamental cherry trees “cherry blossom trees” … but, technically speaking, a “blossom” is literally the flower of any stonefruit tree.
And cherry wood, prized for its attractive red-orange color and excellent working characteristics, comes from neither. Most cherries cultivated for fruit, or Japanese ornamental/blossom cherries are considered “true cherries,” where most “cherry” lumber comes from the black cherry, which is not considered a true cherry.
But the Japanese Sakura are quite specific.
Yes, they are, which is why the gifting of cherry trees is such a strong symbol of friendship! Experiencing Sakura is uniquely Japanese.
https://doyouknowjapan.com/sakura/