Prunus buergeriana  Prunus buergeriana, in Japanese イヌザクラ (inu-zakura), meaning dog cherry, is a species of bird cherry native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, northeast India (Sikkim), and Bhutan. In China it prefers to grow on mountain slopes at 1000 to 3400m above sea level. Its closest relative is "Prunus perulata", from which it is morphologically and genetically distinct. "Prunus buergeriana" individuals usually reach a height of . The small flowers are borne on a raceme. The fruit ripen from green through red to black. Considered an unlovely tree in Japan, the dog cherry is used as a simile in Japanese haiku for unflattering comparisons with dogs; in these the paltry raceme resembles the tail of a whipped cur, or the spotted bark the markings of a starving mongrel.