Prunus apetala is a species of flowering cherry in the genus Prunus in the family Rosaceae.

It is called clove cherry (Japanese: チョウジザクラ choujizakura), because of its clovebud-shaped calyx.

It is native to Japan, centered on the main island, Honshu.

[3] Prunus is the ancient Latin name for plum trees.

The specific epithet apetala is derived from Greek, meaning 'without petals', due to their habit of dropping off the flowers soon after they are formed.