Japanese cherry or Higan cherry: how to tell them apart?
Japanese cherry and Higan cherry look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Japanese cherry
Prunus serrulata
Higan cherry
Prunus subhirtella
The Higan cherry flowers from November and intermittently throughout the winter, well before other cherries, whereas the Japanese cherry flowers in spring with often very double, spectacular flowers.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, finely toothed, bronze when unfolding then bright green, fine autumn colour
Ovate-elliptic toothed leaves, bright green, turning yellow-orange in autumn
🌸 Flowers
White to pink flowers, single to very double depending on the cultivar, generally in clusters. Double-flowered cultivars are often sterile or produce few fruits.
Small single or semi-double flowers, pinkish white, appearing in successive waves during mild winter spells on 'Autumnalis'
🍎 Fruits
Small dark drupe, rarely abundant on ornamental cultivars; fruiting varies greatly with the cultivar.
Small black drupes under 1 cm, with little flesh, rarely noticed
🪵 Bark
Reddish brown, smooth, marked with horizontal lenticels
Smooth grey-brown bark, marked with horizontal lenticels characteristic of ornamental cherries
📏 Size
4 to 8 m tall
5 to 8 m tall, spreading dome-shaped habit
🗺️ Habitat
Planted as a specimen or in avenues in gardens and parks
Planted as a specimen in ornamental gardens and urban parks, notably the cultivar 'Autumnalis', which flowers outside spring
⚠️ Toxicity
No notable toxicity known for the floral parts; like other Prunus, the stone of the rare fruits contains amygdalin
Leaves and stones slightly toxic as in most Prunus
🔎 And from the Higan cherry side
The Japanese cherry flowers in spring with often very double, spectacular flowers, at the same time as the leaves, whereas the Higan cherry flowers from November and intermittently throughout the winter, well before all other ornamental cherries.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.