Prunus subhirtella

Japanese Flowering Cherry, Winter Flowering Cherry, Higan Cherry, Spring Cherry

Message of the Flower

Smile of Beauty

The Mother’s Comment

Nature is happy to be beautiful.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

Let beauty be your constant ideal.

The beauty of the soul

The beauty of sentiments

The beauty of thoughts

The beauty of the action

The beauty in the work

so that nothing comes out of your hands which is not an expression of pure and harmonious beauty.

And the Divine Help shall always be with you.

The Mother, On Education: Curriculum

In the world of forms a violation of Beauty is as great a fault as a violation of Truth in the world of ideas. For Beauty is the worship Nature offers to the supreme Master of the universe; Beauty is the divine language in forms. And a consciousness of the Divine which is not translated externally by an understanding and expression of Beauty would be an incomplete consciousness.

The Mother, Prayers and Meditations: January 29, 1917

Delight is the soul of existence, beauty the intense impression, the concentrated form of delight.

Sri Aurobindo, The Future Poetry: The Soul of Poetic Delight and Beauty

Beauty is Ananda taking form—but the form need not be a physical shape. One speaks of a beautiful thought, a beautiful act, a beautiful soul. What we speak of as beauty is Ananda in manifestation.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Poetry and Art: Art, Beauty and Ananda

Beauty is the special divine Manifestation in the physical as Truth is in the mind, Love in the heart, Power in the vital. Supramental beauty is the highest divine beauty manifesting in Matter.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Poetry and Art: Beauty

The one rule of the gnostic life would be the self-expression of the Spirit, the will of the Divine Being; that will, that self-expression could manifest through extreme simplicity or through extreme complexity and opulence or in their natural balance,—for beauty and plenitude, a hidden sweetness and laughter in things, a sunshine and gladness of life are also powers and expressions of the Spirit.

Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine - II: The Divine Life

Beauty is his footprint showing us where he has passed, Love is his heart-beats' rhythm in mortal breasts, Happiness the smile on his adorable face.

Sri Aurobindo, Savitri - I: The Kingdom of Subtle Matter

Colour

White to pink

Family

Rosaceae

Cultivars

Autumnalis' (winter-flowering cherry), 'Pendula' (weeping form)

Person who named the flower

Japanese botanist Takenoshin Nakai

Flower Size

0.5 to 1 inch in diameter

Flower Texture

Soft, delicate

Number of Petals

5, sometimes more in double-flowered cultivars

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Mildly fragrant

Leaf Texture

Smooth

Leaf Arrangement

Alternate

Leaf Color

Green, turning yellow to red in fall

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Small to medium-sized tree

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Late winter to early spring; 'Autumnalis' cultivar may bloom again in autumn

Climate

Temperate

Water Requirements

Moderate, prefers consistent moisture

Soil Type

Well-drained, fertile, moist

Temperature Ranges

Hardy to USDA zones 5-8

Sun or Shade

Full sun to partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Susceptible to pests like aphids and diseases such as cherry leaf spot and powdery mildew

Pollinators

Bees and other pollinating insects

Habitat

Native to Japan, widely cultivated in temperate regions worldwide

Role in the Ecosystem

Provides food for pollinators and wildlife

Ornamental

Highly valued for its aesthetic appeal and spring blossoms

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Popular in landscape design for its ornamental value

Endangered Status

Not considered endangered, widely cultivated