GIFU—A tree grown from a cherry pit that traveled in space five years ago with astronaut Koichi Wakata, now commander of the International Space Station, has bloomed far ahead of what is normal—to the astonishment of botanists.
This is a pretty freaky story—almost like the beginnings of an eerie science fiction story in which trees from space grow so fast that they take over the planet!
Okay.. that’s a big wild.. But really, the idea that a tree that should grow this big in years only took a few..
And even more: The ‘space’ tree only has 5 pedals as opposed to the normal 30..
This from The ASASHI SHIMBUM:
Botanist Takao Yoshimura, 78, successfully sprouted one of the pits that traveled to the ISS using a method in which he covered the soil with sphagnum moss.
In four years, the young plant has grown to a height of about 4 meters. This spring, it produced about 10 buds, which all were in bloom by April 4.
Yoshimura said it takes 10 years or more for cherry trees to grow flowers, but the young trees produced from cherry pits taken into space have flowered unusually early. Some of the 265 space-traveling cherry pits were planted in Kochi and Yamanashi prefectures after they returned to Earth and they have already come into bloom as well.
Botanist Kaori Tomita, a 56-year-old lecturer at University of Tsukuba who participated in the space cherry project, said that current science can offer no answer for the unusually fast growth of the space cherries.
Killer cherry trees from outer space.. coming soon to a garden near you.. Seeds that have been altered by the space/time continuum..
Botanists baffled by rapid growth of 'space cherry' - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
