(Bill) Greenwood's Great High Meringue (source: BakeWise) Makes enough for one "mile-high" meringue topping for one 9 to 10-inch pie. 1-1/2 T. (0.4 oz or 11 g) cornstarch stirred into 1/2 c. (118 ml) room temperature water 6 lg egg whites (6-oz / 170 g) 3/4 t. (2 g) cream of tartar 3/4 c. (5.3 oz / 150 g) sugar 1 t. (5 ml) pure vanilla extract pinch of salt (secret ingredient option: dry fine bread or cake crumbs, for sprinkling) 1. Arrange a shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375-degrees F (191-degrees C) 2. In a small saucepan, heat the cornstarch and water over med. heat, stirring steadily with a whisk until thick and cloudy. Reserve until needed. 3. Make a hot water bath by boiling 1-inch of water in a large skillet. Turn off the heat. 4. Place the egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl. Stir together the cream of tartar and the sugar, then stir both into the egg whites. Place the mixing bowl in the hot water bath, stirring constantly until the egg-white mixture reaches between 120 to 130-degrees F (49-54-degrees C.). Do not overheat. Stirring gently, keep at this temperature for 2 minutes. Move the warm whites immediately to the mixer and beat on the highest speed until you have stiff peaks. Beat in the cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. When the pie filling has cooled enough to set, sprinkle fine bread or cake crumbs on the filling, then pile the meringue on. To produce wonderful peaks, start in the center of the pie, insert the spatula down into the meringue, and fluff the meringue up and out toward the edge of the pie. Add more meringue and continue to fluff it magnificently high. Bake at 375-degree F (191-degrees C) until the tips of the peaks are dark brown but the valleys are still white. If you want a recipe that is a little "different" and novel... Carol Moore's Easy Magnificent Meringue (source: BakeWise) Makes enough meringue for one 9\-inch pie. 1 T. (7 g) cornstarch 1/3 c. (79 ml) cool water 4 lg. egg whites (4\-oz. / 113 g) 1/2 t. cream of tartar One 7\-oz. (198 g) jar marshmallow creme 1\. Preheat the oven to 375\-degrees F (191\-degrees C) 2\. In a small saucepan or a microwave\-safe glass cup, stir the cornstarch into the water. Heat, stirring frequently, until a thick paste forms. Set aside until needed. 3\. In a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, slowly at first, then building up speed. Beat on medium\-high until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Beat in the marshmallow cream a little at a time until all is incorporated, and the whites become smooth and shiny and form stiff peaks when the beater is lifted. 4\. Beat in 3 T. cornstarch paste, 1 T. at a time, until at least three\-fourths of it is incorporated. 5\. Pile the meringue on warm pie filling, make decorative swirls, and place on the middle shelf in the oven. Bake until the tips and ridges are lightly browned, 15\-20 minutes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Egg\-White Foams and Meringues At a Glance What to do and why.... \-Use scrupulously clean bowl and beaters for egg whites. WHY \- Any oil or crease will wreck an egg\-white foam. \-Use fresh egg whites. WHY \- Fresh egg whites take slightly longer to beat nd yield slightly less volume than older whites, but are more stable and make better meringues and souffles. \-Use room temperature eggs. WHY \- Warmer eggs are easier to separate. The length of time it takes to beat egg whites is inversely related to how cold the whites are. The colder the whites, the longer the beating time. \-Separate the eggs using the three\-bowl method. WHY \- Even a trace of egg yolk will deflate an egg\-white form. \-Use a copper bowl \[a stainless steel bowl will also work\] OR add 1/8 t. cream of tartar per egg white. WHY \- To get a more stable foam that will hold up better in cooking. \-For meringues, add the sugar when soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Be sure to add sugar then \-\- do not wait until too late. WHY \- Add sugar too early reduces the volume and increases beating time. If you wait too late to add sugar, meringue can dry out and will not expand. \-Do not overbeat egg whites. Beat them only until they are still moist and slip a little in the bowl. WHY \- Overbeaten egg\-white foams become dry and rigid and will not expand in a hot oven. \-Stir tapioca starch into the sugar or make a cornstarch paste and beat in the paste after adding sugar. WHY \- Starch prevents the meringue's shrinking when baked and prevents tearing when the meringue is cut. \-Grainlady

I would speculate that the pudding base was not cooked to a full, yet gentle, boil before the eggs were added. I make chocolate pudding all the time for hubs, as it is his go to favorite. It is much the same process of making a thickened pudding base before adding the eggs. Once the base comes to a boil, let it cook gently for a couple of minutes until it thickens up, but do account for the fact that it is going to get thicker as it sets up. Then add in the eggs and I generally bring it back to a very gentle boil ,briefly If you continue cooking that with the eggs in it, it is going to do some strange things to the eggs. After all, this is not really a custard pie such as a pumpkin or a buttermilk where it gets baked in the oven. I have a recipie from an old Betty Crocker book that uses both cornstarch and flour in egual measure. I like it better than just corn starch. It seems to give some extra body to the pie, but it doesnt taste at all floury. My difficulty is with the meringue... I cant seem to make one that does not end up weeping. You might try adding in a couple of tablespoons of flour along with the starch. I think it makes a nice difference and I have never had any problem with it not setting up. But, really, cook it until if has thickened BEFORE adding the eggs, and bring it back to a gentle boil very briefly after the eggs. I bet that solves the problem.

These are Prunus pendula (P. x subhirtella 'Pendula') and not P. x subhirtella (P. incisa x P. pendula). With the seeming possible exception* of Snow Fountains ('Snofozam') all the familiar weeping Higan cherries belong to P. pendula and not P. x subhirtella. One of the differences between the two species is the comparatively long, slender pointed leaves of P. pendula. Such as those visible in your pictures here. *I've seen somewhat limited commentary but do not recall anyone having made enough of a study of this much seen introduction to have clearly and decisively determined its correct taxonomic placement

>'Prunus pendula' isn't a real species< The full combination is Prunus pendula Maxim. and it has been raised repeatedly from seed. The usually seen wild living version, with up-angled branches is P. pendula f. ascendens (Makino) Ohwi. So, yes, probably ideally the weeping version would be designated as a variant of the upright. With for whatever reason the above naming not having been replaced with new combinations that reflect this. A similar instance - depending on how, exactly Prunus pendula Maxim. originated - may be Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Munro and P. nigra f. henonis (Mitford) Munro, wherein the latter is the parental species, with black bamboo being a seedling variant that appears after P. nigra f. henonis flowers. >that's probably because the origins of many of these cherries are/were so poorly understood< Many of the Latin names used for garden forms in the past date back to a time when this was general practice, and was not limited to the naming of Japanese cherries. Today, there are only a comparative few Japanese cherries that continue to exist primarily or solely as horticultural forms - yet are still being listed as botanical entities in contemporary manuals and monographs. >The majority of them resulted from hybridization between just a handful of wild species/varieties< "Most are of obscure origin, some having been cultivated in Japan for more than 1,000 years. Some are hybrids, while others are undoubtedly derived from P. speciosa and P. jamasakura (P. serrulata var. spontanea). No doubt other species have also contributed to their development. Many of the older cultivars, at least, are derived from trees found in the wild, in fact, forms of P. speciosa identical to some of the Sato Zakura have been found growing wild in Japan" - The Hillier Manual of Trees & Shrubs (2014, Hillier Nurseries and The Royal Horticultural Society, London)