7. Yoshino Cherries (East Reservoir)
1909 marked the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s first encounter with the river that bears his name (known to the Lenape people as Mahicantuck). To commemorate the occasion, Japan sent a shipment of cherry trees, but the delivery was lost at sea. Three years later, the Japanese government made another arboreous gift to the United States—3,020 cherry trees were delivered to Washington D.C., now the site of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. That same year, New York also received a delivery. Unlike DC, they opted to spread their cherry trees around the city.
For most of the year, the Yoshino cherry trees on the reservoir’s east side blend in unassumingly with the surrounding greenery, but in early spring, they turn a dreamy, fluffy white. They are the first cherry trees to bloom—usually in mid-April. You can find their vibrant pink cousins, the Kwanzan cherries, on the reservoir’s west side, and look here for where to find other cherry trees throughout the Park.