[2][3] Prunus speciosa is a deciduous tree typically 4–12 metres (13–39 ft) high.

The flowers are 2.5–4 cm diameter, with five white petals, gold stamens and brown sepals; they grow in clusters in the spring, and are hermaphroditic.

When the population of the southern Kanto region increased during the medieval Kamakura period, Oshima cherry, which was originally from Izu Ōshima Island, was brought to Honshu and started to be cultivated there, and then brought to the capital, Kyoto.

In the Muromachi period, Prunus lannesiana 'Albo-rosea' Makino (Fugenzou) and Prunus serrulata 'Mikurumakaisi' (Mikuruma gaeshi) derived from Oshima cherry were born, and in the Edo period, various kinds of Cerasus Sato-zakura Group such as ‘Kanzan’ were born, and many cultivars have been succeeded until now.

[11] The name speciosa in Latin means "the beautiful", a name which must apply to the blossoming tree.