WASHINGTON — Many of you may be looking forward to taking pictures with the iconic cherry blossoms in D.C.
But before you snap that selfie, how can you tell the difference between a cherry blossom and the equally beautiful, but often lesser beloved, plum blossom?
Let's Verify.
Our sources are the National Park Service and Sara Shores and an arborist at University of Washington's 'College of the Environment' in Washington State.
It turns out, there are a few ways to tell the difference.
If you want to know for sure what kind of tree you're looking at, you need to get up close and personal.
Cherry tree bark has little growths called lenticels that help them expel carbon dioxide.
"They're little horizontal stripes in the bark, and plum trees don't have that," Shores said.
Not into investigating tree bark? Try taking a sniff.
Plum blossoms tend to smell sweeter and more floral than cherry blossoms, and finally you can always check your calendar.
According to the National Park Service – plum trees are D.C.'s earliest flowering fruit trees.
WATCH NEXT: The types of Cherry Blossoms in DC