Last updated: March 24, 2021
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Mystery of the Broken Branch Stop 4: Cherry Trees Around the World
Follow the Trail
Follow the trail with Ranger Sarah and a group kids as they search the Tidal Basin for clues about the cherry trees. You can follow along this mystery adventure from home or when visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, DC.
The image is a map for a kids activity called "Junior Ranger Story: The Mystery of the Broken Branch". Each activity directs participants to a place on the map. The map centered around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. The trail has blue dots numbered clockwise around the Tidal Basin marked with numbers 1 through 12 and named for the title of the individual activity at that location.
The map legend says "Story Trail Guide". Stops marked on the map include:
Stop 1: The Trail Begins, which is located on the east end of the Kutz Memorial Bridge on Independence Avenue.
Stop 2: Pollination Station, which is located to the south of Stop 1 on the Tidal Basin.
Stop 3: Write Your Own Haiku, which is located along the Tidal Basin near Maine Avenue.
Stop 4: Cherry Trees Around the World, which is located on the Tidal Basin near the intersection of Basin Drive and Ohio Drive.
Stop 5: Jefferson Memorial, which is located at the Jefferson Memorial plaza on the Tidal Basin.
Stop 6: Japanese Pagoda, which is located at a stone pagoda structure on the west side of the Tidal Basin near the south end of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Stop 7: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which starts at the north end of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and continues through the memorial.
Stop 8: The Tree with the Broken Branch, which is located near West Basin Drive just north of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Stop 9: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which is located on the plaza of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Stop 10: Festival History, which is located along the Tidal Basin just east of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Stop 11: Hanami, which is located on the Tidal Basin near Independence Avenue between the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Kutz Memorial Bridge.
Stop 12: Japanese Lantern, which is located at a stone lantern statue on the west end of the Kutz Memorial Bridge on Independence Avenue.
The map legend says "Story Trail Guide". Stops marked on the map include:
Stop 1: The Trail Begins, which is located on the east end of the Kutz Memorial Bridge on Independence Avenue.
Stop 2: Pollination Station, which is located to the south of Stop 1 on the Tidal Basin.
Stop 3: Write Your Own Haiku, which is located along the Tidal Basin near Maine Avenue.
Stop 4: Cherry Trees Around the World, which is located on the Tidal Basin near the intersection of Basin Drive and Ohio Drive.
Stop 5: Jefferson Memorial, which is located at the Jefferson Memorial plaza on the Tidal Basin.
Stop 6: Japanese Pagoda, which is located at a stone pagoda structure on the west side of the Tidal Basin near the south end of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Stop 7: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which starts at the north end of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and continues through the memorial.
Stop 8: The Tree with the Broken Branch, which is located near West Basin Drive just north of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Stop 9: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which is located on the plaza of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Stop 10: Festival History, which is located along the Tidal Basin just east of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Stop 11: Hanami, which is located on the Tidal Basin near Independence Avenue between the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Kutz Memorial Bridge.
Stop 12: Japanese Lantern, which is located at a stone lantern statue on the west end of the Kutz Memorial Bridge on Independence Avenue.
Stop 4: Cherry Trees Around the World
Head to Stop 4 by following the trail across the bridge over the Tidal Basin. Read the following story and see if you can identify cherry blossom buds.
Central Intelligence Agency 2012, Library of Congress
Ranger Sarah stopped under a tree and looked up at the branch above her head. The kids stopped to see what she was looking at.
“Here’s a good example of the trees blooming!" Ranger Sarah said. "You can see three different stages of flower blossom right on this branch.”
“Ranger Sarah, I have a question,” Imani said thoughtfully. “If the trees need certain weather to bloom, and if they grow all over the world…does that mean they bloom at different times in different places?”
“That’s a great question! It certainly does. Cherry trees, like all plants, need the right conditions to grow and thrive. They need the right amount of sunlight, the right temperatures, rainfall, and soil. These conditions are met for cherry trees in lots of places in the world! We know already that they grow in Japan and here in Washington, DC, where they were planted more than a hundred years ago. Cherry trees grow in other places around the world too, where they have been planted and the environment is right for cherry trees."
Activity: Bud to Bloom
Ranger Sarah continued, "Here in the Tidal Basin every year we predict when we think the trees will blossom. It’s always in the springtime, but exactly when it happens has a lot to do with the weather. There are a few ways we can estimate when most of the trees will be in blossom—we call that peak bloom—which involves some math with the number of warm days. We also use a predictor tree that blooms two weeks before most of the rest of the Tidal Basin. You can even try to make your own prediction every year!”
There are five main stages of bloom park rangers look for to predict when the cherry blossom flowers will fully bloom:
Stage 1: Green buds
Stage 2: Florets are visible
Stage 3: Extension of florets
Stage 4: Peduncle elongation
Stage 5: Puffy blossoms
Left image
Credit: NPS Image
Right image
Credit: NPS Image