7. Historic Trees
When Central Park was built, the city planted more than 270,000 trees and shrubs and preserved a handful of trees that were original to the area. Today, only about 150 trees are left from the time of Olmsted and Vaux, but many of the trees acquired over the years have a unique story. These Yoshino Cherry trees along the east side of the Reservoir may be the original trees presented as a gift to the United States by Japan in 1912. They are among the first trees to bloom in the spring, before the Kwanzan Cherry. The delicate blossoms drop quickly before the trees green out, and stay leafy for the rest of the season.
Where to find them: Along the east side of the Reservoir around East 90th Street.
Ken Chaya and Edward Sibley Barnar are friends who spent two and a half years making a lovely illustrated map that painstakingly details 19,933 trees in the Park. Titled “Central Park Entire,” the map includes 170 different species, including 33 of these wisteria trees:
