Plum Blossom vs Cherry Blossom?

Question

When I look at pictures, they look nearly identical, except the cherry blossom has that little split at the ends of the petals.

Plum: http://www.theflowerexpert.com/media/images/flowerbusiness/flowergrowersandsellers/nationalnativepopularflowersofchina/image-of-plum-blossom.jpg

Cherry: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Cherry_Blossom_Kobe_2.JPG/800px-Cherry_Blossom_Kobe_2.JPG

Are there actually any other differences? Are they from the same family?

Answer 1

i never seen plants so identical!

Answer 2

Both plum and cherry trees are in the genus Prunus (so are almonds, peaches and apricots).  A recent DNA study of 48 species concluded that Prunus is monophyletic and is descended from some Eurasian ancestor.  You can read much more on the link below.