Plants and Flowers in Tokyo & Japanese Culture by Kei Narujima　東京の草花＆つぶやき - なるじまけい: Oshima and Yoshino Cherry Blossoms

Oshima and Yoshino Cherry Blossoms - Which is Which?　大島桜と染井吉野の見分け方

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It's very difficult to distinguish Oshima cherry (Prunus speciosa) from Somei Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis). Both are whitish pink, resembling each other. But there are a couple of clear differences.

First, Oshima cherry trees start to produce white flowers and green leaves at almost the same time while Somei Yoshino produces whitish pink blossoms first and then green leaves after flowers fall. You can see this by comparing the first two photos. Secondly, Oshima cherry blossoms turn whitish pink just before falling while Somei Yoshino blossoms don't. They're just whitish pink from the beginning to the end. Thirdly, although both are pink, the pink is slightly different because Oshima cherry blossoms change color, resulting in them having a gradient from pure white to pale (slightly reddish) pink toward the end of the blossom season whereas Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms' pink is a little smoky.

If you want to compare these two in more detail, read the posts below.

If you're interested in brighter pink cherry blossoms, such as Yoko, Okame, Kawazu, and Taiwan cherry blossoms, click the link(s)!