Japan & Von Siebold DoubleMatured Special offer Show this booklet together with your admission ticket to the museum SieboldHuis and get a e 1.50 discount on admission to the Hortus botanicus (valid only the same day); or present your Hortus entrance ticket and this booklet for a reduction of e 1.50 on admission to the Japan museum SieboldHuis. A Museum Pass gives free admission to both museums.

Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (Würzburg 17-02-1796/Munich 18-10-1866) The island Deshima, painted by , ca. 1833 - ca. 1846 (from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam collection). Von Siebold worked as a physician at the Dutch trading post Deshima in Nagasaki, Japan, between 1823 and 1829.

Welcome! In the centre of this booklet is grow in the since the days a map, showing the route for a of Von Siebold. A description stroll around the garden. The of these can be found in walk is not marked in the garden; the following pages, arranged by so follow the route using this number. From page 14 onwards, map. you will find information on the You will walk past plants that still Von Siebold Memorial Garden.

3 Von Siebold specimens Numbers on the map in the centre of this booklet indicate a specimen brought back by Von Siebold. In the Hortus, the plants are marked with large grey labels to make them easily recognisable. This label shows the scientific name, the name of the family to which it belongs, and the Dutch and Japanese name, if available.

4 1 Wisteria floribunda ‘Alba’, Fabaceae White Japanese wisteria; Shirobana Fuji This is the white variety of the more familiar blue-flowering wisteria. It is known for its long drooping . Regrettably, this plant is rarely cultivated in . Wisterias are poisonous, particularly the seeds. Three old wisteria plants, dating from before 1854 (!), are growing here over the pergola. Flora Japonica Flora White Japanese wisteria - Japanese wisteria - Japanese wisteria - W. floribunda W. floribunda W. sinensis

2 Wisteria floribunda, Fabaceae Japanese wisteria; Fuji This plant is a vigorous climber, and can easily climb to the top of a tall ; a wisteria can live to be 350 years old. This is a beautiful blue-flowering wisteria, which also has long racemes. In hot summers it produces pods, that resemble broad beans; but be careful, they are toxic.

3 Wisteria sinensis, Fabaceae Wisteria; Yamafuji This wisteria bears short racemes of deliciously scented blue . All wisterias are fragrant, but this one has the strongest scent of all.

5 4 ailantifolia var. cordiformis, Japanese ; Himegurumi The Japanese walnut grows into a broad, sturdy tree. Although the branches had been cut back to prevent damage, the trunk ruptured during a storm in the summer of 2015. By now either the trunk has been spared in the hope of the formation of new shoots, or the old tree is replaced by a young specimen. As a precaution grafts had been taken earlier on, so the young tree is genetically identical to the original.

5 Aesculus turbinata, Hippocastanaceae Japanese horse ; Tochinoki The inflorescence and the of this Japanese horse chestnut are very similar to those of A. hippocastanum, which is widely cultivated in the . The husk containing the conker is not prickly. In Japan the of this tree is used for making household items; the wood often has a wavy grain, giving these products beautiful markings.

6 6 Clethra barbinervis, Clethraceae White alder; Ryobu A relatively unknown dense , which can reach a height of 3 metres (10 feet). It produces abundant, sweet-scented, trailing racemes with white flowers in July. The small leaves are grouped together at the end of the twig. The flaking bark is very pretty and is highly prized in Japan; it is a real bonus in the winter garden. The small leaves are bright green, with saw-toothed (serrate) margins. This is a good garden plant for a damp location.

7 Orixa japonica, Rutaceae Japanese orixa; Kokusagi You can recognize Orixa by its unpleasant smell, when crushing the leaves. Given enough space, this shrub will grow into a wide elegant bush. Orixa is dioecious; if you want to collect seeds, you need to plant a male and a female plant. The plant has a remarkable way of dispers- ing its seeds; ripe seeds are shot out of the over a considerable distance. Michael Wolf Michael

7 8 Acer palmatum, Japanese ; Irohamomiji This tree has small, palmate, lobed leaves that turn a beautiful shade of red in the autumn. It bears clusters of small, red-pink flowers in April and small, shiny-red, winged in autumn. This tree has been cultivated for many centuries in Japan, and is also a favourite for creating Bonsai. The present specimens, which are more than 150 years old, were brought back by Von Siebold from his second Japanese visit (1859-1861) and grew to maturity here in the Hortus.

9 Acer cissifolium, Sapindaceae Vine-leafed maple; Mitsudekaede In contrast to many other , this species has trifoliate leaves. The leaflets have a rough serrate margin. This maple bears tiny yellow flowers in slender racemes of 3-9 centimetres (1.5-4.5 inches) in May, appearing at the same time as the leaves. Its pretty bark is highly valued in Japan.

8 10 Morus australis var. yeddoensis, Moraceae Chinese mulberry or Korean mulberry This relatively unknown mulberry grows into a small tree. The pink fruits are smaller and nowhere near as tasty as the fruits of the black mulberry. The leaves vary in length from 6 to 15 centimetres (2 to 6 inches). These leaves can also be used to feed silkworms, although they thrive better on the leaves of the white mulberry (Morus alba).

11 Zelkova serrata, Ulmaceae Japanese elm; Keyaki This specimen, Von Siebold brought back from his first visit to Japan (1823-1829). The leaves have a fine serrate margin and turn into a beautiful orange, yellow and copper in autumn. Japanese elm is not vulnerable to Dutch elm disease. Note the beautiful bark. The silver-gray fine-grained wood is used in Japan to make costly boxes and tea-cabinets.

12 Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii, Lamiaceae Japanese clerodendrum; Kusagi A strong shrub with clusters of white star-like flowers, which are fragrant, in contrast to the leaves that smell like butter, when crushed. The round berries are cobalt blue in colour, which stand out beautifully against the wine-red calyx. In Japan this shrub is only found growing in the wild; it is not planted in more

elegant gardens because it grows too fast. Hans Clauzing

9 13 Akebia quinata, Lardizabalaceae Chocolate vine; Akebi A climber with fine five-lobed leaves, which fall off during cold winters. This plant often flowers as early as February, bearing small clusters of wine-red, scented flowers; each cluster includes small male flowers and (often only 2 or 3) larger female flowers. The plant produces striking pink club-shaped fruits. The skin is hard and bitter; the transparent flesh contains many tiny black seeds and is edible but does not have a pleasant taste.

Chocolate vine; Akebi Japanese quince; Boke

14 Chaenomeles speciosa, Rosaceae Japanese quince; Boke The Japanese quince is known for its bowl-shaped flowers, which appear in early spring, and come in a variety of shades of red, pink, orange and even greenish-white. Our specimen has red flowers. It is a very prickly shrub, of which both low-growing and climbing species are known; the latter can be trained along a wall. It is often used in plant- ing in public spaces. The small, green or yellow, fragrant, apple-like fruits are rich in vitamin C. They can be used to make jam that is very sour and rich in pectin, which makes the jelly so stiff, that when you insert a knife, it remains upright!

10 15 Rhaphiolepis umbellata, Rosaceae Yeddo hawthorn; Sharimbai This evergreen shrub does not tolerate our winters well, so we keep it in the Orangery during the winter months. It has shiny, dark-green leaves and clusters of white, scented flowers in April-May. It bears pear-shaped black fruits of one cm (0.4 inches) in the autumn months.

Yeddo hawthorn; Sharimbai Japanese blue oak; Arakashi

16 Quercus glauca, Fagaceae Japanese blue oak; Arakashi An evergreen oak from Japan. At first sight one would not recognize it as an oak tree, as the leaves are not our familiar lobed oak-leaves but are long and pointed. In our climate it does not produce many acorns. This oak has a wide area of distribution in East Asia: from Japan and China to the Himalayas, but it never grows above a height of 1,500 metres (5,000 feet).

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P6 P6 8 8 Victoriakas Bezoekerscentrum Bezoekerscentrum Victoriakas Victoria house Victoria centre Visitor Visitor centre Victoria house 9 9 Sterrewachttuin Sterrewachttuin 8 garden Observatory Observatory garden 8 11 kruidentuin Chinese Chinese kruidentuin 11 Hoge Kas Hoge garden herb Chinese Chinese herb garden Hoge Kas High Glasshouse High High Glasshouse

Von Siebold Siebold Von P5 P8 P8 P5 Von Siebold gedenktuin gedenktuin gedenktuin 13 garden memorial memorial garden 13

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Niet toegankelijk/ Niet Niet toegankelijk/ 14 12 closed closed 12 14 Oranjerie Oranjerie 10 Sterrenwachtlaan Sterrenwachtlaan 10 Oranjerie Orangery Orangery 5 5 Orangery Niet toegankelijk/ Niet Niet toegankelijk/ closed closed 6 Talcott Talcott 6 4 7 huisje huisje 7 4 2 house house 2 P3 Groentetuin Groentetuin P3 P1 P2 11 garden Vegetable Vegetable garden 11 P2 P1

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, pag. 8 pag. , cissifolium Acer 9 5 pag. ‘Alba’, floribunda Wisteria 1 1 Wisteria floribunda ‘Alba’, pag. 5 9 Acer cissifolium, pag. 8

Grand Grand 9 pag. , yeddoensis var. australis Morus 10 5 pag. , floribunda Wisteria 2 2 Wisteria floribunda, pag. 5 10 Morus australis var. yeddoensis, pag. 9 Grand Café Café Café Clusius 9 pag. , serrata Zelkova 11 5 pag. , sinensis Wisteria 3 3 Wisteria sinensis, pag. 5 11 Zelkova serrata, pag. 9 Clusius , pag. 9 pag. , fargesii var. trichotomum Clerodendrum 12 6 pag. , cordiformis var. ailantifolia Juglans 4 4 Juglans ailantifolia var. cordiformis, pag. 6 12 Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii, pag. 9 , pag. 10 pag. , quinata Akebia 13 6 pag. , turbinata Aesculus 5 5 Aesculus turbinata, pag. 6 13 Akebia quinata, pag. 10 Academiegebouw 10 pag. , speciosa Chaenomeles 14 7 pag. , barbinervis Clethra 6 6 Clethra barbinervis, pag. 7 14 Chaenomeles speciosa, pag. 10 Academiegebouw Academy Building Academy Academy Building , pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant kuipplant/half-hardy 11: pag. , umbellata Rhaphiolepis 15 7 pag. , japonica Orixa 7 7 Orixa japonica, pag. 7 15 Rhaphiolepis umbellata, pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant , pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant kuipplant/half-hardy 11: pag. , glauca Quercus 16 8 pag. , palmatum Acer 8 8 Acer palmatum, pag. 8 16 Quercus glauca, pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant P7

P6 8 Bezoekerscentrum Victoriakas Visitor centre Victoria house 9 Sterrewachttuin Observatory garden 8 Chinese kruidentuin 11 Chinese herb garden Hoge Kas High Glasshouse

P8 P5 Von Siebold gedenktuin memorial garden 13

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1 Wisteria floribunda ‘Alba’, pag. 5 9 Acer cissifolium, pag. 8

2 Wisteria floribunda, pag. 5 10 Morus australis var. yeddoensis, pag. 9 Grand Café 3 Wisteria sinensis, pag. 5 11 Zelkova serrata, pag. 9 Clusius 4 Juglans ailantifolia var. cordiformis, pag. 6 12 Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii, pag. 9 5 Aesculus turbinata, pag. 6 13 Akebia quinata, pag. 10 6 Clethra barbinervis, pag. 7 14 Chaenomeles speciosa, pag. 10 Academiegebouw Academy Building 7 Orixa japonica, pag. 7 15 Rhaphiolepis umbellata, pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant 8 Acer palmatum, pag. 8 16 Quercus glauca, pag. 11: kuipplant/half-hardy plant An inquisitive physician Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold studied medicine at Würzburg University in Germany. Botany was an important subject in medical education in those days. After completing his studies, Von Siebold decided that he wanted to see more of the world. The Netherlands, with colonies in the East and in the West, provided him with the opportunity. Between 1823 and 1829, Von Siebold worked as a medical doctor at the Dutch trading post at Deshima in Nagasaki, Japan. Meanwhile he also had the task to find out which Japanese products would be suitable for trading. He became deeply impressed by nature in Japan and recog- nised the economic value of all those beautiful flowering plants, not yet known in the West. He sent bulbs, seeds and living plants to the Hortus in . As already mentioned, today more than ten original Von Siebold plants are still growing in the Hortus.

Prior to Von Siebold’s travels to Japan only 34 East-Asian plants were known in Europe; he introduced more than 730 species. Nowadays, 70% of all and planted in Dutch gardens, avenues and parks originate from East Asia.

Illustration (right): Forsythia from the ‘Flora Japonica’. Von Siebold, together with J.G. Zuccarini, described many new species in this publication. The plant labels in the Hortus show the scientific plant name, followed by the author’s name, e.g. ‘Siebold & Zucc’.

14 15 Von Siebold Memorial Garden: background and design In 1990 the Hortus celebrated its 400-year anniversary. To commemorate this event the Von Siebold Memorial Garden was laid out. A garden within a garden, where one can remember Von Siebold, the man who became famous in Japan for teaching Western medi- cine and known in the Netherlands for introducing a large number of new plants. Landscape architects were Prof. Makoto Nakamura and Prof. Hiromasa Amasaki, assisted by Prof. Wybe Kuitert. The garden is built in the Japanese dry landscape style (kare-san-sui). Moreover the garden symbolises the relationship between the Netherlands and Japan. The wall, which in Japan accentuates the closed nature of a The lantern can be recognised as an ‘Christian’ garden, is open to the west and has lantern by the cross in the shaft and the little a view to the east. figurine, possibly a portrayal of the Virgin Mary.

16 Stones and gravel Stones and water are the back- bone of every Japanese garden. In a kare-san-sui (dry mountain - water) garden gravel symbolizes water. In the raised part, at the far end of the garden as seen from the pavilion, a ‘streamlet’ springs up between the rocks. This stream trickles into a dry waterfall, which tumbles down over the rocks. Downstream it widens into a pond (the ocean), flows around two islands and then reunites just in front of the pavilion. The ‘water’ then runs around the pavilion and laps against the pedestal of the bust of Von Siebold. Large weathered stones, chosen rock endures. A triad, a group of for their colour and shape, three stones can be discovered turning back the ‘water’ at the under the Japanese elm; they banks, give a sense of age and represent Buddha with his two immortality: plants come and go, helpers.

17 Cedar-wood pavilion The pavilion is made of fine cedar wood, light and airy and raised on posts, in Japanese style. The roof is covered with copper plates and the ridge is finished using the same tile construction as is used to protect the wall against rainwater. Visitors should not walk around in this Japanese garden. Instead, you should sit on one of the benches in the pavilion and enjoy the peace and quiet. Let your eyes wander over the stepping-stones, laid out in patterns, to the islands and the waterfall. Bamboo grows to your left and irises to your right on the bank. The Zelkova (Japanese elm), planted here in 1830, arches above. Von Siebold himself looks through the pavilion to the garden, and then on over the ocean to his beloved Japan.

18 Turtles and cranes Islands in the shape of a turtle or a crane have long been symbolic elements in the Japanese garden. According to an old Chinese Taoist myth the Immortals lived far away on islands in the ocean; they supervised the elixir of life, and could fly on the back of a crane. Mortals could not reach the islands because they were attached to the backs of giant sea turtles. In a Japanese garden, therefore, a turtle island is never connected to the shore by a bridge. Because turtles can live to a great age, they became symbolic of a long, happy life. In this garden the turtle is swimming towards the waterfall, and the crane with an extended long neck and upturned wings flies towards Von Siebold.

19 Bust of Von Siebold by Oswald Wenckebach, 1932. Few flowers in the garden Japanese love flowers. They place yedoensis behind the lantern. pots with flowering plants on their Irises grow on the banks of the doorstep or balcony, but not in the pebbled stream, and moss grows garden. on the slopes. A collection of During the sixteenth century, East-Asian plants can be seen, under the influence of Zen growing on both sides of the path Buddhism, Japanese gardens on the west side of the garden. The became increasingly subdued and large Zelkova serrata, a Japanese green. Plants were gradually elm with striking bark, is one of limited to a select number of Von Siebold’s original plants and species, predominantly evergreen was planted here in 1830. trees supplemented with spring- Mop-headed hydrangeas grow flowering Japanese cherry trees next to the bust of Von Siebold, and Japanese maples that turn red Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Otaksa’. in the autumn; so as to accentuate In 1826 Von Siebold met a the changing of the seasons. In a beautiful Japanese girl called kare-san-sui garden, the planting Sonogi Kusumoto, also known as is subordinate to the design. One O-Taki. He fell in love, and they sees bamboos, such as had a daughter called O-Ine, who Phyllostachys nigra with black stems would follow in her father’s and the low-growing Sasa veitchii; footsteps and become the first both which spread rapidly so they female doctor in Japan. This must be kept under control and hydrangea is named in honour of have been severely restrained here Von Siebold’s Japanese wife. with roof tiles. Note the Prunus

20 Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Otaksa’ from the Flora Japonica.

Turn left as you leave the Hortus and walk down the street. Here you will find the Japan museum SieboldHuis. Read more about this museum on the next page. Colophon Text Titia van der Eb-Brongersma, Photography Cunie Sleijpen, Hans Clauzing, Carla Teune, Hanneke Jelles a.0 Editors Paul Keßler , Design Studio Kaboem!, Gouda Titia van der Eb-Brongersma Translation Medilingua Translations

21 Japan museum SieboldHuis Japan museum SieboldHuis has a display of the most beauti- ful objects from ancient and modern Japan. In 1837 Von Siebold sold the objects he had collected during his six years in Japan to the Dutch Government. Together with the items collected by Overmeer Fischer and Cock Blomhoff, it became the base for the Museum of Ethnology (Volkenkunde) in Leiden. Japan museum SieboldHuis will give you a good impression of the size and diversity of Von Siebold’s collection.

Japan museum SieboldHuis Rapenburg 19 2311 GE Leiden www..org

22 Globefish (or puffer fish), attributed to Kawahara Keiga

23 www.hortusleiden.nl