Natural Habitat of Yoshino Cherries in Bonggae-dong, Jeju

The Jeju Yoshino cherry is a tree of the rose family whose white or pale pink flowers bloom in April before the leaves appear. Research carried out in 2018 by teams from the Korea National Arboretum, Myongji University and Gachon University revealed that the Jeju Yoshino cherry is a natural hybrid, with the early cherry as the maternal parent and the mountain cherry as the paternal parent, and that it is a species endemic to Korea, growing naturally on Jeju Island and at Daedunsan Mountain in Jeollanam-do. The Yoshino cherry once suffered the ordeal of being cut down because it was regarded as Japan's national flower, but it has since been established that Korea is its place of origin. The natural habitat of Yoshino cherries in Bonggae-dong lies beside the Dongbu Industrial Road in Jeju City. Two trees grow about 60m apart from east to west, and a third grows in a valley 60m southwest of the western tree, making three Jeju Yoshino cherries growing naturally here in all. They stand around 15m tall. The two trees now standing to the east and west are protected by small stone walls built up around them. As the Jeju Yoshino cherry originates in Korea and survives in very small numbers, making it a rare species, it has high biological value, and because it also has great value for research in plant geography, the Natural Habitat of Yoshino Cherries in Bonggae-dong, Jeju has been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jeju City, Jeju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물