Current status of cherry trees (Prunus subg. Cerasus) planted in Korea: A case study of Bundang Central Park and adjacent area

Abstract

Prunus subg. Cerasus is the most planted street and landscaping tree in South Korea, but it is difficult to identify species according to their macro-morphologies, leading to problems when attempting properly to manage species quantities. The purpose of this study is to understand the current status of plant types and species compositions in Bundang Central Park in Bundang-gu of Seongnam City and to discuss the necessity of the management of landscaping tree planting. In April of 2021, during the cherry blossom season, a total of 5,866 planted cherry trees were investigated within an area of 6 km<sup>2</sup> of Bundang-gu in Seongnam City. As a result, 5,744 trees were sorted into eleven taxa, but the remaining 122 trees were not determined due to their complex morphologies. Prunus ×yedoensis Matsum. accounted for the highest proportion (52.1%), followed by P. serrulata Lindl. var. pubescens Nakai and P. jamasakura Siebold ex Koidz. P. ×nudiflora (Koehne) Koidz., a plant native to Jejudo Island, was not found in this survey. In order to help identify cherry trees based on micro-morphologies, an identification key was presented for the eleven taxa planted as major landscaping trees. It is known that cherry trees frequently form interspecific hybrids in nature. In order to prevent a loss of the genetic originality of native species due to hybridization and gene introgression from foreign cherry trees, it is necessary to manage planting species near the habitats of native taxa and track their origins.

Can Harvesting Flowers Reduce the Amount of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide? : The Case of Cherry Blossoms

“…They belonged to Prunus x yedoensis when identified by a set of taxonomic keys on flower and other parts. Keys for flowers used hairy style, cup-shaped calyx tube, and white or pink flowers in bundles of 3-6 flowers as criteria for identifying to species level (Han et al, 2022) 19 . Keys for other parts used gray-brown bark, toothed oval leaves in alternating arrangement with hair on the veins at the back to identify species (Kim, 1998) 3 .…”