The Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees of Washington, D.C.

The Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees of Washington, D.C.
by Roland M. Jefferson and Alan E. Fusonie
Adopted by
Cody and Jessica Walsh
in honor of family and friends who celebrated their wedding in Washington, D.C.
on April 21, 2018
Cover of The Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees of Washington D.C.

The Japanese flowering cherry trees of Washington, D.C. : a living symbol of friendship, National Arboretum Contribution no.4

By Roland M. Jefferson and Alan E. Fusonie. Washington D.C.: Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1977.

This wonderful book is about the history of the famous Japanese flowering cherry trees in Washington, D.C. It’s co-authored by Roland Jefferson, the first African American botanist  at the U.S. National Arboretum (USNA), hired in 1956.  Mr. Jefferson began his career studying crabapple trees, but eventually became an international authority on flowering cherries, making many plant collecting trips to Japan. He is best remembered for beginning the preservation work to save the cherry trees along D.C.'s Tidal Basin, a project continued to this day by USNA botanists and geneticists. While compiling the data for this book, Mr. Jefferson noticed several trees were aging and was able to remedy the situation by growing cuttings of the original Yoshino variety. The book tells the story of how the now famous and much anticipated cherry trees came to be planted around the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park in 1912. It's a fascinating tale of international diplomacy with details on how the first shipment of trees had to be destroyed after their arrival. It serves as part history lesson and part insight as to why the U.S. needed to develop an effective monitoring system for foreign plant introduction.

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Adoption Type: Build and Access the Collection