[1][2] It is a hybrid born in Japan and one of its cultivars, Prunus × yedoensis 'Somei-yoshino' or Yoshino cherry (Japanese: 染井吉野　ソメイヨシノ Somei Yoshino), is one of the most popular and widely planted cherry cultivars in temperate regions around the world today.

[5][6][7] 'Somei-yoshino' inherits Edo higan's quality of blooming before the leaves unfold and it growing into a large-sized tree.

[10] On April 1, 2019, the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Shimane University and Kyoto Prefectural University announced that they had decoded all the genetic information of 'Somei-Yoshino', and it was revealed that 'Somei-yoshino' descended from Edo higan and Oshima cherry, as is commonly believed.

[14] In 1900, Yorinaga Fujino [ja] gave the Yoshino cherry the name Somei-yoshino after the famous place of cultivation, Somei village (current day Toshima) and famous place of Prunus jamasakura, Mount Yoshino.

[16] However, after Ernest Henry Wilson suggested Yoshino cherry is a hybrid between Prunus subhirtella var.

nudiflora by a German botanist Bernhard Adalbert Emil Koehne in 1912 continues to be called Prunus yedoensis.

The flowers emerge before the leaves in early spring; they are fragrant, 3 to 3.5 centimeters (1.2–1.4 in) in diameter, with five white or pale pink petals.

[3][4] With its fragrant, light pink flowers, manageable size, and elegant shape, the Yoshino cherry is often used as an ornamental tree.

Pilgrim Hill in New York City's Central Park is popular for its groves of pale flowering Yoshino cherry trees as they burst into bloom in the spring.