Cloning Cherry Trees

Cloning  Cherry Trees

   The original Yoshino cherry trees that Japan gave the United States as a token of friendship in 1912 are slowly dying out. Just 125 of those first 3,000 trees remain; however, scientists at the National Arboretum have developed a method to maintain the legacy of the Japanese gifts.

Yoshino cherry trees live an average of 47 years; the remaining original 125 are now 87 years old.

Arboretum scientists spent six months performing DNA fingerprinting to identify the original trees. Cuttings taken from the originals were used to grow saplings.

Scientists said cuttings were used because pollination would not produce trees that were genetically compatible.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman presented 500 saplings cloned from the original trees that will join the more than 3,700 trees encircling the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial and lining the grounds of the Washington Monument.

Other trees have been added over the years to make a truly splendid sight in the spring when they all bloom.

(SOURCE; The Empire State News, Daughter of the American Revolution newsletter, Alice Teal, Editer.)NOTE:  A version of this article first appeared in the weekly column Cornucopia  by Kate Chamberlin in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper, 02/10/2000.