Volume 47 Number 2 Spring 1987

Arnoldia (ISSN 0004-2633; USPS 866-100) is Page published quarterly, in winter, spring, summer, and 2 Eight Views of Nippon fall, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. by Robert G. Nicholson Subscriptions are $12.00 per calendar year domestic, $15.00 per calendar year foreign, payable in advance. Single copies are $3.50. All remittances must be in U. S. dollars, by check drawn on a U. S. bank or by international money order. Send subscription orders, remittances, change-of- address notices, and all other subscription-related communications to: Helen G. Shea, Circulation Manager, Arnoldia, The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795.

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Copyright © 1987, The President and Fellows of Harvard College. 16 Native Plants: The Possibilities Edmund A. Editor Cultivating Schofield, Susan Storer Peter Del Tredici, Associate Editor Helen G. Shea, Circulation Manager Marion D. Cahan, Editorial Assistant (Volunteer)

Arnoldia is printed by the Office of the University Publisher, Harvard University.

Front cover: Arisxma sikokianum, a Japanese rela- tive of the jack-in-the-pulpit of North America. Photo- graphed in the garden of H. Lincoln Foster in May 1979 by Jennifer H. Hicks. Courtesy of the photographer. (See page 2.) Opposite: The large- flowering, or showy, trillium /Trillium grandiflorum) in flower at the Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts. During April and May, twenty-two kinds of trilliums bloom along trails in the Garden. Photograph by John A. Lynch. Courtesy, the New England Wild Flower Society. (See page 16.) This page: Robert Nicholson collects seeds on Mount 20 Cultivating Native Plants: The Legal Asahi during his recent trip to Japan (top) and David Pitfalls Longland works in the meadow garden at the Gar- Linda R. McMahan den in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts. Pho- tographed by Robert G. Nicholson and John A. Lynch, respectively. (See pages 2 and 16.) Inside 25 Native-Plant Societies in the United States back cover: Professor Kingo Miyabe, professor of botany at the Agricultural College, Sapporo, Japan. Photographed by Ernest H. Wilson in June 1914. 27 Hardy Aroids in the Garden From the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. Back Judy Glattstein cover: Lysichiton americanum flowering in the New York Botanical Garden. Photographed by Judy Glatt- stein. Courtesy of the photographer. (See page 27.) 35 BOOKS II Eight Views of Nippon Robert G. Nicholson

Visiting ancient gardens in Tokyo and mountaintops on Hokkaido and Honshu, temple gardens and national parks, and far-northern islets, a botanical pilgrim finds the whole of Japan to be one vast "green Mecca"

To travel in a country as botanically rich and Arnold Arboretum. Although I undertook the as horticulturally storied as Japan was a goal trip primarily to collect woody plants, Gary I had carried for years. Now, after my recent Koller, the Arboretum’s managing horticul- first visit to that green Mecca, I realize what turist, did draw up a list of targeted rare an open-ended ambition it was, for I could species for me before I left. never have found all of the native species I During the course of the three weeks, I sought or visited all the gardens worth seeing collected from eighteen sites, about half of during my three-week stay in Japan. them mountains in the range of six thousand

Of all the world’s countries, Great Britain to nine thousand feet (approximately 1,800 to ;>: and Japan have attained the greatest promi- 2,750 m). I visited three of the four main nence in horticulture. Their peoples nurture islands of Japan and, between bursts of col- a deep love of plants, and neither will tolerate lecting, visited some of the fabled gardens an excuse not to garden. After all, one can created during the fifteen hundred years of always garden in a window box or single pot, Japanese landscaping. as city dwellers of both countries often do. After landing at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, I Great Britain presents the "garden needed to spend a day or two in Tokyo adjust- crawler" with the dilemma of choice, for ing to the ten-hour difference in time. Tokyo, there are scores of first-rate botanic gardens, formerly called Edo, is the present capital of parks, and cottage gardens to decide among. A Japan but was not a city of importance until visitor to Japan faces a similar problem, but 1863, when it became the new capital. It does has a compounding problem as well: com- have some fine gardens but none with the pared to Britain or even the eastern United long and time-worn elegance of those in Nara, States, Japan has a staggeringly diverse native Japan’s first capital, or of those in Kyoto, long flora, one that still contributes new and un- the seat of Japanese culture. tried plants to horticulture, ranging from al- Even though my visit did not come at the pines to tropicals, a flora that makes Japan best time for viewing gardens, a number of one of the greatest "natural gardens" on gardens were recommended to me. One in earth. particular-Rikugi-en-stood out. In September of 1986, I had the good for- tune of going to Japan, to collect plants for the I: Rikugi-en, the Garden of Poetry Rikugi-en is literally called the Garden of the six classifica- Opposite: A yukimi lantern in the Rikugi-en Garden, Poetry, Rikugi signifying Tokyo. All photographs accompanying this article were tions of poetry in Japan and China. Com- taken by the author. pleted in 1702, the garden was designed by 4

Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, a minister of the nated this fine garden to the City of Tokyo. Shogun. It is a prime example of a circuit In addition to its outstanding plant materi- garden, with a main path following the con- al, such as huge specimens of Ginkgo biloba tours of a large central lake, one that is dotted and Acer buergeranum, the garden features a with islands of cloud-pruned black pine. number of quintessentially Japanese charac- From this main path a number of smaller ters. Stone lanterns dot the garden, both the paths wind into the patches of woods on the tall Taima-ji style and the more-squat, four- edges of the garden, often surprising with legged Yukimi type. A bridge, made of large, specimen plants or dappled views back to- ten-foot slabs of stone take one over a pool ward the central waters. filled with vividly mottled koi and large One outstanding specimen was a large, painted turtles, both creatures well settled fifteen-foot (4.5-m) plant of Enkianthus peru- into their role as the park’s beggars. latus, usually seen only as a shrub in the What distinguishes the garden is its metic- United States. The garden originated as a ulous upkeep and its balanced interplay be- feudal estate, but in the 1870s it came to the tween the shadowy woods and the bright hands of a member of the rising financial expanses of clipped lawn. These lawns are aristocracy, a Baron Iwasaki. He respectfully actually a recent feature in Japanese landscap- restored the garden to its original drawing and ing, having been borrowed from the West descriptions. In 1938 the Iwasaki clan do- only in the last century or so. Upon the bright- green lawns are positioned tightly pruned, mounded plants of the dark-green Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergiana. From across the pond, these pines look like large stones, or even islands on a calm sea of green.

II: Daisetsuzan National Park Given that I would be a month in Japan, I felt it best to start collecting in the North, where seeds would ripen early, and to work south- ward during my stay. The first collecting was to be on Hokkaido, the northernmost big island, in the Daisetsuzan National Park. Before collecting, I made a short, helpful visit to the Sapporo Botanical Garden, long an ally of the Arnold Arboretum. In Sapporo, I was shown a row of massive red oaks lining a city street. Beneath one of the oaks was a sign stating that the trees had been started from seed sent to Japan by the ArnoldArboretum in the late 1800s! Since it was the Garden’s cen- tennial year, I presented its director, Tatsu- ichi Tsujii, with gifts from the Arnold Arbo- retum-a Magnolia virginiana grown from native Massachusetts seed and a photograph Cobblestone path in the Rikugi-en Garden, Tokyo. of Kingo Miyabe, the Garden’s first director, 5

which E. H. Wilson had taken during his stay fifty-nine hundred feet (1,800 m), the soils in 1917. thereafter being affected by sulfurous steam Dr. Tsujii had arranged for seed-collecting from an active band of fumaroles. permits for me, and within a day I was on the Looking back down from this height, I saw flanks of Mount Asahi, at sixty-two hundred that the ponds looked like chips of mirror set feet (2,290 m) Hokkaido’s highest mountain. into a clipped carpet of low, green plants, each Mount Asahi has an excellent alpine zone species contributing its own unique texture. that can be reached by cable car, so I began A mile-long trail connected the upper ter- collecting in the alpine zone and walked my minus of the cable car to the beckoning hot- way down. At fifty-three hundred feet ( 1,620 spring spas below. As if to further my appre- m) was a series of small alpine ponds around ciation of this custom, a drenching rainstorm which grew Geum pentapetalum, Empetrum took its cue, turning the path into a stream- nigrum var. japonicum, Bryanthus gmelinii, bed. Phyllodoce aleutica, and Rhododendron au- Despite the rain, this trail offered some of reum. This last species is a prostrate dwarf the trip’s best collecting as it connected al- with pale-yellow flowers. Prior attempts pine, subalpine, and boreal forest zones over with the plant in Boston have proven unsuc- its short distance. At about forty-nine cessful. Perhaps the cooler summers in such hundred feet ( 1,500 m), I collected Tripetaleia places as Maine would mimic its native cli- bracteata, a close relative of the Georgia mate better than that of Boston. plume, Elliottia racemosa. It was growing at The larger shrubby species in this area a much higher elevation than I expected. were limited to Pinus pumila, the Japanese About halfway down Mount Asahi, in a stone pine, and Sorbus matsumarae, a bushy forest of Abies sachalinensis and Picea mountain ash with vivid-red fall color. The jezoensis, the trail cut through a series of flora on this mountain terminates at about level areas that formed wet meadows. There

Meadow on Mount Asahi, Daisetsuzan National Park. 6

I found a daylily, Hemerocallis middendorfii, larger of the pair and betrays its volcanic a hosta, Hosta rectifolia, and masses of Lysi- origins by its stunning profile, a sharply ta- chyton camtschatcense, a member of the pered cone that rises fifty-seven hundred feet Araceae with an affinity to skunk cabbage. (1,749 m) above sea level. (Imagine, if you With long, elliptic, two-foot (60-cm) leaves will, a six thousand-foot island off the coast of and an inflorescence consisting of a yellow Boston!) Access to the islands is gained by fer- spadix subtended by a pure-white spathe, this ry from Wakkanai, an active fishing port. It is hardy plant would be a bold addition to a beautiful, bracing ride, brimming with Japa- marshy plantings or pondside gardens. I col- nese tourists eager to visit the Islands of lected a large lot of seeds in the hope that some Flowers. would germinate. The two islands are most noted for their high number of endemic species, particularly III: Rishiri and Rebun, Islands of Flowers of woodland and alpine plants. Since it is a Rishiri and Rebun are two islands that have prime collecting area, permits are limited to long held a special fascination for plant lovers. few seed collectors, but I was able to arrange They lie off the northwestern corner of permission through the gracious efforts of the Hokkaido and are only fifty miles (80 km) Sapporo Botanic Garden. from Russia’s Sakhalin Island. Rishiri is the To reach the summit from the port takes

The alpine zone of Rishiri Island. 7

five to six hours of brisk walking. As with any Japanese stone pine, and Sasa kurilensis, a rapid change in elevation, the floral diversity waist-high, thin-stalked bamboo that forms also changes quickly, and a good selection of massive, impenetrable pure stands. material can be acquired in a day or two. The pine is one of the Japanese plants In the lowest zone of the island is found a which I found most interesting, as it is a mixed forest of deciduous trees such as Acer natural dwarf, rarely growing more than mono var. mayrii, Corylus heterophylla, seven feet (2.1 m) high. It tends to form dense- Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, and Phel- ly branched, impenetrable stands and is gen- lodendron amurense intermingling with erally the last conifer seen before reaching the Picea glehnii and Picea jezoensis. Two of the alpine zone. Its range is from mid-Honshu better collections were Magnolia hypoleuca, northward and varies greatly in its attitudinal a plant related to our native Magnolia distribution. E. H. Wilson reported it from ten macrophylla, Magnolia tripetala, and Mag- thousand, six hundred feet (3,250 m) on nolia ashei, along with Skimmia japonica Honshu, but Yushun Kudo wrote that it oc- var. repens, a low-growing shrub of the citrus curred at sea level, growing in sand dunes on family found growing in the dense shade of a Russia’s frigid Sakhalin Island. Here it grows Picea forest. As I continued upward, the ter- on the sea beaches and their immediate vicin- rain became steeper, and the woody flora ity in association with such plants as Em- became more stunted. After passing through petrun nigrum, Vaccinium vitis-ida?a, Loise- a belt of Abies sachalinensis intermixed with leuria procumbens, Linnxa borealis, Artem- Betula ermanii, the woody flora diminished isia norvegica, and Fritillaria camtschat-, in size and frequency. censis. Wilson also reported that cones were ~ The upper third of the mountain is domi- rarely found, and this was true. The cones nated by two species-Pinus pumila, the evidently are carried away by squirrels and

Pinus pumila (right) and Sasa sp. on Rishiri Island. Sasa sp. on Rishiri Island. 8

other rodents, as I saw numerous seedlings in ent that Rishiri cannot be done in a day. clumps, indicating that the animals probably Climbing time up and back down takes at store the seeds. least eight hours, and there are many plants to The foliage of Pinus pumila ranges from consider along the way. As it turned out, I blue-green to grey-blue, and one cultivar, stayed too long at the top and had to travel the ’Dwarf Blue’, is a fine dark blue. Because of downward path through Rishiri’s black sil- the density of these attractive needles, the houette forest by the light of a poet’s moon. low spreading architecture, its hardiness (Zone 3), and its possible salt tolerance, Pinus IV: Ryoan-ji Temple Garden pumila would seem to be an ideal plant for Half a dozen landmarks-"must sees"- foundation, seaside, or mass plantings. It is, usually are indelibly linked to a country, and unfortunately, rarely found in nursery cata- failure to visit at least one of them is a logs because its seeds are scarce and because traveller’s sacrilege. A visit to one of these it is difficult to graft. well worn stops is likely to produce mixed Beyond the Pinus pumila-Sasa zone, feelings: you feel part of a herd and often have Rishiri’s craggy peak is home to a varied a sense of dejd vu, having seen the attraction alpine flora. Sedum cauticolum, Rhododen- a hundred times in photographs. Ryoan-ji dron camtschaticum, Oxytropisrishiriensis, Temple in Kyoto is such a site. This famous Achillea alpina, and a ground-hugging spe- garden, composed only of five groupings of cies of Salix I’ve yet to identify grow among fifteen stones set in a flat expanse of raked the rocks in chunky, volcanic soil. By the sand, has stretched the definition of "garden" time one reaches this zone it becomes appar- for five centuries.

The garden at Ryoan-ji Temple. 9

The garden dates from the Muromachi within the rectangular bed is so perfectly Period ( 1394-1572) and is the premier exam- wrought an impenetrable harmony results. It ple of a particularly Japanese style of garden, is probably one of the few gardens in the world the Karesansui, or Dry Landscape. Gardens of that resists second guessing. The only plants this style represent streams, lakes, shallows, that "intrude" into this garden design are the and rivers by suggestion, using coarse sand, moss that has established itself at the base of pebbles, and stone to define an imaginary each grouping and the treetops that rise be- body of water. The style had its beginnings in yond the buff brown, tile-topped walls. Nei- the Kamakura Period ( 1186-1335 but usually ther was part of the original design. If we as part of a greater garden scheme. It was not define a garden as a place of plants, then until the middle of the Muromachi Period Ryoan-ji barely qualifies. It seems to be the that dry gardens stood as singular, separate progenitor of the current concept of "environ- entities, made to be viewed from one spot, mental sculpture" or of sculpture gardens. usually a raised veranda, and with entry into For comparison, I would offer Carl Andre’s the space restricted. Dry gardens were con- "Stone Field Sculpture" in Hartford, Con- structed as aids to meditation, as sources of necticut. Built in 1977, it consists of thirty- inspiration for the monks of the Temple. six ordered boulders on a triangular plot and Ryoan-ji probably was built late in the was met with outrage when "unveiled." It Fifteenth Century. Its designer is still a sub- stands more as an abstraction, perhaps sym- ject of scholarly debate, although the name of bolizing islands on a sea, a floating world. Soami, a painter and tea master, usually Today’s landscape architects who strive to comes to the fore. It is often thought that the expand the concept of garden should look to stark black-and-white paintings of the Sung the five hundred-year-old Ryoan-ji before pro- Period in China, of which Japanese painters of claiming too loudly their new "minimalist the time were aware, may have inspired this concepts."" minimalist trend in garden architecture. The garden is a part of a large temple V: Ritsurin Garden complex set on the side of a verdant hill in The port city of Takamatsu, situated on the northwestern Kyoto. As it is the main attrac- large southern island of Shikoku, is the locale tion, a steady flow of tourists is directed by of Ritsurin, one of Japan’s finest gardens. signs through the temple grounds to the gar- Composed of a network of strolling paths den. Although some writers suggest that the interwoven through a system of streams and garden is best viewed during early morning, ponds, Ritsurin is a prime example of the when wet and misted, I found it equally satis- Kaiya-shiki type of circuit landscape garden- fying in the bright, clear sun. Incredibly, and ing. It offers a constant unveiling of views only in this retreat garden, a loudspeaker sys- both intimate and expansive. tem was barking a quick taped explanation of Ritsurin is a comparatively recent garden, Zen tranquillity to tourists in Japanese. No having been constructed over a span of eighty better symbol of modern Japan could be years starting in the late Seventeenth Cen- found. tury, during Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867). The garden’s design is inexplicably power- The Edo Period was a time of relative prosper- ful and produced within me feelings of tran- ity and peace during which the feudal lords quillity and wonder. Its stones rest in five vied for honor among themselves through the groups (five and two to the left half; three, quality of the grounds surrounding their two, and three to the right), but the placement castles. Ritsurin was such a place. It was 10

Ritsurin Garden, one of Japan’s finest. Twohundredyears old, it is located in Takamatsu, a port city on the large southern island of Shikoku. started by Takatoshi Ikoma, the Lord of through a dark woodland in some sections, Sanuki, but eventually came to Yorishige while in others the vista presented imitates Matsudaira, the first Lord of Takamatsu. His the view from a high hill or mountain. Water clan controlled the garden for the next two and views across water are major features of hundred twenty-eight years, until 1875, the garden, with six major ponds and numer- when it became a public park after the Em- ous streams incorporated into the design. peror Meiji issued a proclamation encourag- Sited between two ponds is Kikugetsu-tei, an ing such conversions. expertly crafted teahouse that dates from the The object of the garden’s design is not un- feudal period. Visitors are allowed to unshoe like the Gardenesque style championed in and take tea, and while sipping, it was a the late 1700s by the Englishman Humphrey dilemma to choose between studying the Repton. Both seek to incorporate a variety of beautiful craftsmanship of the building or the plant material-arborescent, shrub, and per- view of the rocks and ponds outside the slid- ennial-into a design embracing natural ing panels. forms rather than constricting them into The finest view of Ritsurin, and one of the contrived geometrical patterns. best in any Japanese garden today, is from the It is a representation of nature, following top of a small, manmade hill in the southeast- the example of the local regional scenery but ern comer of the garden. One looks over the constructed with considerable poetic li- tops of manicured black pines (Pinus thun- cense. The viewer feels that he is walking bergii) across the breadth of Southern Pond. It 111

is bisected early on by a simple yet stately "captured landscape." The designer con- arched wooden bridge. The ends of this bridge sciously frames and incorporates a distant are attended by finely cloud-pruned pine, view into the design of the garden. This nul- making it look as though it were rising from lifies the feeling of garden boundaries and the mists. Looking beyond the bridge, one gives Ritsurin the feeling of an unbounded sees a small island dotted with clusters of piece of heaven. mound-pruned azalea: plants imitating stone formations. As the pond narrows, the eye is VI: Mount Tsurugi drawn farther, on to a formation of three rocks From Takamatsu I continued eastward by rail rising from the surface of the waters, looking to Tokushima, a city renowned in Japan for like far-distant islands. The water’s end is Awa Odori, a festival of crazy dances. Want- sited with a specimen tree of Pinus parviflora ing to get into the interior mountains, I in- and the simple, minimal, refined teahouse. quired about transportation. On the advice of The gaze is finally drawn past the pond, past the local tourist bureau, I boarded a train line the teahouse, to the slopes of Mount Shiun, which paralleled the Yoshino River, with in- whose flanks come sharply down to the structions to disembark at Waki. Here a con- garden’s edge. The pine-covered hill appears necting bus into the mountains could be as a virtual curtain of boughs. caught. Language barriers prevented my un- It is a masterfully constructed composi- derstanding that this bus would take me only tion, one that successfully draws the eye half way, and that a surprised hitchhiker across the entire expanse of the garden, past would be deposited in sparsely settled hill its boundaries, up the side of the mountain to country. A few rides with local truck drivers the sky above. This view of Ritsurin is a prime took us over switchbacks that squirmed example of shakkei, "borrowed scenery" or upward. One driver was a small fellow of five

The view from Mount Tsurugi. The windswept tree probably is a species of Tsuga. 12

feet and one hundred pounds, but he sped his ten-ton truck forward with an infective con- fidence. The terrain was extremely steep and heavily forested with Cryptomeria japonica, which, when harvested, was transported down the sharp slopes on a cable system. During one layover between rides, I was happy to find Acer carpinifolium, an odd maple with an elliptic leaf like that of iron- wood. I also found Hydrangea sikokiana, a shrub with highly incised leaves. One final ride took me to the village at the base of Mount Tsurugi, at sixty-four hundred feet (1,956 m) Shikoku’s second-highest mountain. As it offers a three hundred sixty- degree view, it is a popular hiking spot and as is often the case in Japan, this popularity is confirmed by the presence of a convenient chair lift up a good portion of the mountain. My primary goal on this peak was Abies vietchii, the common fir of central Honshu, a The in Koraku-en, the Lord stroll whose is a bit muddled. It path of Okayama’s species taxonomy garden on Honshu Island. grows in the subalpine zone with such species as Tsuga diversifolia and Abies mariesii. On Shikoku, however, a short-needle var- Beneath the trees grew such plants as iant occurs that some botanists regard as Deutzia gracilis and Spirxa blumei var. pu- Abies shikokianum, the Shikoku fir. Regard- bescens. Bamboos growing there included less of its proper designation, it is one of the Sasa ishizuchiensis and Sasa hirtella. most southerly populations of fir in Japan and As I neared the top of the mountain the may be of use in our southern states, as well trees became stunted and windblown, often as in New England. assuming a flat-topped, leaning posture. Sil- The mountain’s chair lift, refuge of the very white spires, the remains of long-dead tired and lazy, gives a subtle punishment to trees, stood as monuments to a lost battle plant collectors. You are sped by plants, cov- against cold and wind. ered with seed, a mere two meters below your The summit itself was a broad dome cov- feet. Passed over were Hemerocallis, Rhodo- ered only by short bamboos and grasses. From dendron, and-to the side-massive trees of here I could see the terrain I had crossed- Kalopanax pictus. sharp ridge upon sharp ridge, looking like Once off the lift, I began walking upward walls thrown up to hold the island’s secrets through the narrow subalpine forest. Here from intruders. were such trees as Fagus crenata, Tsuga sieboldii, Pinus pentaphylla, and the Shiko- VII : Koraku Garden ku fir. Its black-purple cones were easy to Departing the island of Shikoku, I ferried spot, and in a short while I had made a good again to the main island, Honshu, for a last collection of seeds. few days of collecting, but before returning to 13

of lawn or low plantings of rice. As with most Japanese gardens of this size, ponds and streams are a major design device, the ponds offering us long, open views, the streams al- lowing for a playful interplay of path and water. Though impressed by many of the longer views, I was more taken by certain features of the garden than by the overall design itself. A favorite was a simple eight-plank bridge (yat- suhashi) over a small marsh of irises. Each plank intersected the next at a different angle, so that, in crossing the zigzag, you were pre- sented with eight fresh views of the surround- ing garden. Simple, ingenious, and playful, it also created a linear interplay with the irises below-a flat, simple, abstract framing de- vice contrasting with the fresh green, vertical leaves. Stone lanterns, originally a functional fix- ture of tea gardens, were used frequently in other style gardens as well, often simply for decoration. At Koraku-en, one oddly shaped lantern caught my attention. Rather than The Crow Castle of Ikeda Tsunamasa, Lord of having a tall column with a square, light Koraku-en Garden was constructed across Okayama. this lantern was a hol- the river from the castle, beginning in 1687. compartment, squat, low, stone circle set on two legs and topped with a hat-like triangular roof. Set onto lawn the woods I visited one final garden. Koraku- alongside a crystal, serpentine stream, I could en, in the city of Okayama, is said to be one of only imagine the beautiful scene at night, Japan’s three best large gardens. Like Rit- with the light of the lantern gilding the surin, it dates from the feudal era, having been water’s ripples and its enigmatic outline originally started by Ikeda Tsunamasa, the aglow from a distance. Lord of Okayama, in 1687. The garden was One tree I was excited to see on the constructed across the river from his distinc- garden’s edge was Torreya nucifera, an un- tive black castle, The Crow Castle, and was common conifer of the yew family. It is a lrage reached by footbridge. It was intended as a evergreen tree, more pyramidal in habit than "stroll garden," but incorporated into the yew but with the same overall texture. Its expansive design were many intimate beauty needles, though, unlike those of Taxus, have spots and pavilions for tea and composing sharp, piercing tips. Some species of Torreya poetry. are native to Florida and California, but their The overall effect of the garden is one of seeds are rarely available. This specimen was sunny openness, with most large trees or well endowed with seeds, half a pound of dense plantings confined to the edges, while which I gathered for propagation trials. the central portions consist of large expanses 14

VIII: Mount Yatsugadake seeds of a number of interesting perennials A final field day was spent in the Japanese and deciduous trees. I found a species of Alps of central Honshu. I had come to one Hosta and a species of Halenia, as well as one mountain complex in particular, Mount of Hemerocallis. Many of the perennials will Yatsugadake, in order to collect seeds of two have to be grown on for identification, as rare spruces, Picea maximowiczii and Picea most keys rely on floral characteristics. Acer koyami. Up to this point I had been disap- japonicum and an azalea, Rhododendron ja- pointed by the general seed-set in Japan that ponicum, also appeared in this vegetation fall, but on this mountain I was to find a zone, along with Lindera obtusiloba, a spice- multitude of plants with good seed-set. bush with excellent fall color. These two spruces are currently in the I soon entered a coniferous belt dominated Arboretum’s collection but date from a 1917 by the hemlock, Tsuga diversifolia, although collection by E. H. Wilson. I had hoped to get a solitary plant of Thu;opsis dolobrata, a some fresh seed to rejuvenate our holdings of conifer endemic to Japan, also grew in this these uncommon species. A well defined trail zone. It was a low-growing, spreading plant was crowded with Japanese hikers, all dressed and confused me at first, as I thought I had in gear that reflected the seriousness with found a heavily mutated plant of Chamx- which they approached hiking. cyparis obtusa. Beneath the hemlocks grew The lower reaches of the mountain yielded plants of an evergreen rhododendron, Rhodo- dendron metternichii, and a member of the Diapensiaceae, Shortia soldanelloides. The only other time I had seen Shortia was also in a hemlock grove, in Marion, North Carolina. The hemlocks on Mount Yatsugadake began to intermingle with Abies veitchii, and here I found the only spruce I would see that day. There were only half a dozen plants, all less than eight feet (2.5 m) in height and barren of cones. These I keyed out to be Picea maxi- mowiczii. At one point, I was startled by a man with a basket and knife, a mushroom hunter. Like mushroom hunters everywhere, he was reluctant to let me know what he was doing, as I, too, might be stalking the same game. I continued up through the forest and broke through the arborescent species onto a ridge of rocky pumice, where I found the shrubby Pinus pumila, along with crowberry (Em- petrum nigrum var. japonicum) and a low- growingform of Vaccinium. On the downside of the ridge was a gorgeous mossy forest of firs, Abies vietchii and Abies homolepis, with Rhododendron metter- Pinus pumila and Empetrum sp. on Mount Yatsuga- "underplanted" dake. nichii and Vaccinium spp. 155

... And the Sight of Fuji Epilogue I collected seeds and cones and returned back Many of the seeds I collected germinated very well, often up to the rocky ridge. From these mountains in excess of our needs. To help defray the costs of the collecting trip, we are offering a selection of perennial I had to get a long view of Fuji, which hoped and woody-plant seedlings for sale to Friends of the for the entire had been obscured trip by fog. Arnold Arboretum. Friends may obtain a price list by Hokusai, the painter, had once done a series of sending a stamped, addressed envelope to: woodblocks titled "Views of Mount Fuji." Japanese Seedling Sale The Dana Greenhouse My final mountain view of Japan, in the direc- _ The Arnold Arboretum tion of Fuji, was one of thick fog swirling Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795 through groves of green firs and blue stone pines. I left the mountain never having had my Robert G. Nicholson writes often forArnoldia and other own view of Fuji, yet I was not in the least dis- horticultural publications. When not attending to his appointed. For a plant collector, I thought, it duties in the Dana Greenhouse or on the grounds of the probably would have been just another view. Arnold Arboretum, he ranges the world in search of interesting plant materials.

Corrections Through a lapse in proofreading, the binomials of two plants mentioned in Richard Warren’s review of Native and Cul- tivated Conifers of Eastern North America: A Guide, by Edward A. Cope (Arnoldia, Volume 47, Number 1, Winter 1987, pages 27 to 29), were misspelled. The binomials, both of which appeared on page 27, are correctly spelledPinus ayacahuite and Cupressus macrocarpa, respectively. Cultivating Native Plants: The Possibilities

Susan Storer

If used with due concern for the well-being of their wild populations, native species promise a wider choice of plants for the gardens of North America

According to some recent surveys, gardening Why Cultivate Native Plants? has become the national pastime of Ameri- At Garden in the Woods, growing native cans. Hand in hand with the increasing popu- plants reflects the vision of its creator, Will C. larity of gardening has come a growing inter- Curtis. "It is a wildflower sanctuary in which est in native plants. More and more people are wild plants will be grown, their likes and visiting the Garden in the Woods-which is dislikes discovered, and the knowledge so the botanical garden of the New England Wild gained eventually passed on in an effort to Flower Society (NEWFS) in Framingham, curb the wholesale destruction of our most Massachusetts-to enjoy and to learn about beautiful natives. This is to be my contribu- the native plants of North America, for ex- tion to conservation." Promoting the conser- ample. Every day the Garden receives numer- vation of native plants continues to be the ous requests for information about native main purpose of the Garden in the Woods. plants. The general public wants to know The conservation message at the Garden in how to select wildflowers for specific situ- the Woods begins with the presentation of a ations, how to cultivate them successfully, garden of great beauty. The beauty and tran- and where to buy seeds and plants-as well as quillity that visitors to the Garden encounter what to do when wild populations of special is a powerful way of gaining public interest plants are threatened by development proj- and support for native plants. As a result, ects. many visitors are inspired to include the From professionals come different types of native species in their own gardens. Perhaps inquiries--conservation commissioners seek they become interested in native species be- information about wetland species and their cause of the great variety available for their communities in order to deal with the sticky gardens, or perhaps because of some deeper issues of wetland protection and replication, kind of interest in or connection with North nurserymen seek economical methods of pro- American wildlings. pagation and cultivation in order to respond to the increased demand for native plants in Native Species in the Home Garden the landscape trade, and wildlife biologists People are awakening to the potential for look for information on the behavior of native using native plants in the home garden. While plants under cultivation, in order success- the style of Garden in the Woods is naturalis- fully to manage populations or rare and en- tic, native species can be used in any garden dangered species in the wild. All these re- situation or landscape style, from naturalistic quests for information give a clear signal that to very formal. In the garden, all plants have there is great interest in the native flora. their strong and weak points regardless of 17

their origins-native or exotic, wild or culti- vated. The notion that native species are somehow inferior to other garden plants, that they are ragged and weedy or fragile, is false. There are hundreds of garden-worthy native species that are versatile in cultivation and appropriate in a variety of settings. Native plants combine well with exotic and cultivated species. Visitors to the Garden in the Woods are thrilled to see Japanese jack- in-the-pulpit, European ginger, and Chinese witch hazel growing alongside their North American cousins. Native species are also excellent companions, even for such familiar cultivated favorites as hosta, astilbe, and bleeding heart. The possibilities are endless. Cultivating Native Plants The basic culture of native plants is no differ- ent from that of any other plant. Some native species are very adaptable to a wide range of conditions, some are very specific in their requirements. In all cases, however, best re- sults are achieved the by choosing right plant Lilium superbum, the Turk’s lily, a strong-growing for the right place and by paying close atten- native lily that fares best in full sun to light shade. tion to their soil, pH, moisture, and light re- Photographs by John A. Lynch. quirements. The best rule of thumb is to plant wild- familiar tasks of fertilizing, mulching, prun- flowers in sites where conditions closely ing, watering, and weeding are necessary for match those of their natural habitats. Wood- success. land species are probably the best known natives in cultivation. Trilliums, hepaticas, Propagating Native Plants wild ginger, bloodroot, and maidenhair fern Closely associated with the cultivation of all grow together in rich wood’lands in the native species are the mysteries and intrigues wild and also make a great combination, both of propagation. Home gardeners can partici- culturally and aesthetically, for a shady gar- pate in this activity without a large invest- den site. Although not as well known as the ment of materials and equipment. Propaga- woodland species, there are many sun-loving tion by seed, cuttings, and division are the species from which to choose for sunny bor- main methods used at the Garden in the ders and meadow gardens. Woods. Many natives are easily propagated by All native species, to reach their full poten- one or more of these methods, either outdoors tial under cultivation, must be provided the during the growing season or on a windowsill same care and attention as any other garden in the winter. For some species, propagation plants. As long as you are gardening with by seed is the easiest method, while for oth- native plants and not just naturalizing or ers, such as forms of certain species (albinos, managing plants in a natural setting, all the doubles, compact varieties, etc.), vegetative 18

tributing to their destruction in the wild. Fortunately, there is a way both to enjoy native species in the garden and to conserve them in the wild: to propagate them. Before buying native plants from a nursery, the buyer should ask the nursery how it acquired its plants and buy only propagated material. Propagated plants have much healthier root systems than nonpropagated plants and gen- erally survive handling, with much better long-term results. Many botanical gardens, native- plant societies, and nurseries offer seed for sale to the home propagator. Through propagation, there is a great wealth to be gained in the garden and a great wealth to be preserved in the wild.

Bibliography Cultivation George D. Aiken. Pioneering with Wildflowers. Wood- Aster novae-angliae, the New England aster. A spectacu- stock, Vermont: Countryman Press, 1984. lar fall-blooming species with color forms ranging from Oliver E. Allen. Wildflower Gardening. Time-Life Ency- pink to deep purple, it does best in sunny spots. clopedia of Gardening. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1977 Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Gardening with Wild Flowers. propagation by cutting or division is a must Handbook No. 38. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn because they usually do not come true from Botanic Garden, 1979. seed. While much work remains to be done to Hal Bruce. How To Grow Wildflowers and Wild Shrubs unravel and Trees in Your Own Garden. New York: Alfred mysteries, propagation techniques A. Knopf, 1976. for many wild plants are well documented. John Mickel and Evelyn Fiore. The Home Gardener’s Excellent resources are available to guide the Book of Ferns. San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart, and home gardener in these techniques. Propaga- Winston, 1984. William E. Brumback and David R. Garden in tion is not only a fascinating and rewarding Longland. theWoods Cultivation Guide. Mas- but one that can a much Framingham, activity, provide sachusetts : New England Wild Flower Society, wider of material than is avail- variety readily 1986. 61 pages. able in the trade. nursery Available from the New England Wild Flower So- ciety (NEWFS), Hemenway Road, Framingham, Acquiring Native Plants Massachusetts 01701, for $6.45, postpaid. As the popularity of wildflowers has in- Ortho Books. Landscaping with Wildflowers and Native creased, so has the demand placed on the Plants. San Francisco: Chevron Chemical Com- nursery industry to provide them. Since wild- pany, 1984. Edwin F. Steffek. The New Wildflowers and How To collection is still the way in which many Grow Them. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, nurseries obtain their stock, by buying these 1983. plants for our own gardens, we may be con- 19

Propagation Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Propagation. Handbook No. 24. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Botanic Gar- den, 1982. Philip M. Browse. Plant Propagation. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979. Will C. Curtis and William E. Brumback. Propagation of Wildflowers. Framingham, Massachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society, 1986.30 pages. General propagation notes; brief specific notes for 114 native plants; seed-collection dates for 93 wildflowers. Available by mail from the NEWFS for $5.45. H. T. Hartman and D. E. Kester. Plant Propagation. Fourth Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1983. National Council of State Garden Clubs, Directory of Resources on Wildflower Propagation. Saint Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden, 1981. Harry R. Philips. Growing and Propagating Wild Flow- ers. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1985. Sources of Native Plants New England Wild Flower Society. Nursery Sources: Native Plants and Wild Flowers. Framingham, Massachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society. Lists sources of seeds and propagated plants of over200 populu wildflowersforZones 4, 5, and 6 ; 58 nurseries that sell wildflower seeds or propa- gated plants for Zones 4, 5, and 6; and other nursenes throughout the country that propagate native plants. (The 1987 edition will be available from the NEWFS m the summer of 1987.) New England Wild Flower Society. Seed List. Framing- ham, Massachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society. Available in late January of each year, the Seed List is sent free to members of the NEWFS. Nonmem- bers may obtain copies by sending a stamped (39t), addressed long (No. 10) envelope for each copy to "Seeds," c/o NEWFS.

Susan Storer is Horticulturist at the Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts. Cultivating Native Plants: The Legal Pitfalls

Linda R. McMahan

By knowing and observing plant-protection laws and determining the origins of native plants offered for sale, collectors can aid conservation efforts-and avoid the legal and ethical pitfalls of collecting as well

If you purchase native plants you might break More than one hundred of the taxa are now the law and, at the same time unknowingly protected by the Act, and others currently are contribute to the demise of wild plant popu- proposed for protection. In practical terms lations, since collection from the wild is sel- this means that the interstate trade or collec- dom adequately licensed or controlled. By tion of those taxa is prohibited on lands following a few simple rules, however, you owned by the United States Government, can avoid the legal and ethical pitfalls of unless one has a permit issued by the United buying (and collecting) native plants for use States Fish and Wildlife Service or another ap- in a garden, for scientific research, or for horti- propriate agency, such as the Bureau of Land cultural display. Management, the Park Service, or the Forest In the United States, many laws protect Service. species of plants or regulate activities that in- Some of the endangered and threatened volve them. The laws range from strict prohi- species on the Federal list are available bitions of the collection and sale of protected through legitimate sources. Only propagated species to local regulations aimed at main- plants may be sold legally, and their sale must taining scenic beauty. It is important to know be licensed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. what these laws are. The Tennessee purple coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) is an example of a species Plant-Protection Laws in the United States grown from seed. (According to the Fish and In 1973, the United States Congress passed Wildlife Service, only two nurseries were the Endangered Species Act, which for the licensed to sell the species in 1985.) Species of first time granted Federal protection to plants Pediocactus, a genus of endangered diminu- under the terms of a major law. Congress tive cacti, are sometimes propagated by seeds, directed the Smithsonian Institution to draw cuttings, or tissue culture. Chapman’s rhodo- up a list of the endangered and threatened dendron (Rhododendron chapmanii), endan- plants of the United States. The gered in the wild, is available as plants raised Smithsonian’s list, which was published in from seeds or cuttings. book form (Ayensu and DeFilipps, 1978), Other Federal laws protecting plants in- included about three thousand plant taxa of clude more-general ones, such as those that the continental United States and Hawaii. prohibit commercial collecting on Park Serv- This number, which represents one out of ev- ice lands, and the requirements that permits ery ten native plant taxa, astounded the scien- be obtained for collecting on most other Fed- tific community. eral lands. 21

State Laws from the United States Fish and Wildlife Ser- In addition to the Federal laws, many states vice (e.g., United States Fish and Wildlife have laws conserving plant species. About Service, 1980, 1981 and from many state- half of the fifty states have passed endangered government offices. species laws that help to conserve plants (McMahan, 1980; McMahan, 1984), for ex- The Threats of Trade in Wild Species ample. There are as many types of provisions Trade in wild plants can affect more-common as there are states; they provide various de- species as well, among them the Venus’s-fly- grees of protection, from outright prohibi- trap (Diona?a muscipula), which is native to tions against collection and sale to the crea- the Green Swamp of North Carolina and tion of licensing systems. Some states do not South Carolina. Although it has a restricted regulate collecting at all, but instead, focus on habitat, the Venus’s-flytrap is locally abun- preserving the habitats of rare plants. dant where conditions are favorable (Sutter, Despite the efforts of some states to protect 1985/. Its removal from the wild is monitored their rare plants, it remains a sad fact that by the North Carolina Department of Agri- . most of the plants at risk of extinction in the culture, but several nurseries and botanical United States are not yet protected by either gardens propagate Venus’s-flytrap from seeds Federal or state laws (see, for example, or by plant divisions. Propagated specimens Manheim and Bean, 1984). Conservation- provide the buyer with a choice, making it conscious horticulturists and botanists will unnecessary to remove Venus’s-flytraps from learn which native plants are rare and will wild populations. proceed with extreme caution to purchase Another example, the yellow lady’s-slip- only propagated plants. Publications listing per /Cypripedium calceolus), is commonly plants at risk of extinction can be obtained offered through mail-order garden catalogs in

The Venus’s flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) being propagated in flats at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Photograph by the author. 22

the United States. Unless the company states mative booklet, Nursery Source List: Wild- that they are propagated, the plants are al- flowers and Native Plants (New England most certainly of wild origin. One catalog Wild Flower Society, 1984), is very useful. refers to its stock as "specially selected," It is important to realize that, with few perhaps in an effort to mislead the customer exceptions, wild collection is not adequately about the source of the plants. The Garden in controlled or licensed by either state or Fed- the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, eral agencies. One of a handful of states li- the botanical garden of the New England Wild censing the removal of wild plants is Arizona. Flower Society, is propagating the yellow Wildlife officials dubbed "cactus cops" give lady’s-slipper on a limited basis, as are a few permits and tags for collecting wild saguaro others. These sources offer propagated plants (Cereus giganteus) and other large cacti used that are more likely to survive transplanting in outdoor landscaping. Collecting certain to the garden than are most wild-collected rare species is strictly prohibited unless it is plants. done by the landowner. In this way, the state At least the yellow lady’s-slipper and some monitors the removal of wild cacti and can other wildflowers can sometimes survive better assess the effect of collecting on the transplanting from the wild. Others, such as wild population. Whenever possible, state many other species of Cypripedium, are not officials encourage collectors to remove so lucky. They usually die after one or more plants from lands about to be developed years, leaving the gardener or horticulturist rather than from wild lands. wondering what he or she did wrong. For those interested in learning sources of nurs- The Legal Requirements ery-propagated native plants, the New Eng- Knowing that what you purchase is both legal land Wild Flower Society’s small but infor- and not detrimental to wild populations can

Chapman’s rhododendron (Rhododendron chapmani~, The yellowlady’s slipper (Cypripedium calceolus). This a popular horticultural species endangered in its wild species sometimes survives transplantation but is also habitat in Florida. Photographed by E. LaVerne Smith of being offered on a small scale as propagated specimens. the Office of Endangered Species, United States Fish and Photographed by William Krebs. Wildlife Service. 23

be difficult. It is perhaps safest to purchase mine that they originated as propagated only material that you know is of propagated plants. origin. Here are a few simple rules to follow: D Obtain information about the site from D Learn about the laws that protect native which the plants came if, for scientific rea- plants. Write to a conservation department in sons, you must purchase plants collected in a state to which the plants are native to find the wild. The information may be valuable out about local laws. You are presumed to some day. know what the laws are, in any case. D Do not, in general, buy wild plants un- D Follow all requirements of the state or less their collection and sale are licensed and Federal government, such as obtaining per- the wild population is monitored by a govern- mits if you must use wild plants. Be aware ment agency. that even the sale of propagated plants of ~ Be particularly careful when you buy some species is regulated so as to increase from mail-order catalogs. Many rare and wild- protection of the wild resource. collected specimens of cacti and insectivo- rous plants are sold in this way, perhaps ille- Other Considerations gally. In addition to being aware of the legal require- ~ Be aware that most "wildflowers" of- ments and pitfalls, you should: fered for sale in the United States through D Find out whether the native plants you mail-order catalogs were collected from the buy are wild or propagated. The best way to do wild. These include bloodroot, ferns, and tril- so is to ask the supplier. liums. ~ Find out which species are rare, either in D Never buy lady’s-slipper orchids (Cyp- the state or nationally, and be particularly ripedium spp.) unless you know that they careful when you buy these species to deter- were artificially propagated.

Echinacea tennesseensis, the Tennessee purple cone- A pincushion cactus, Pediocactus peeblesianus var. pee- flower.This species is available legally from nurseries blesianus. Endangered pincushion cacti are popular licensed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. among cactus collectors. Photograph by the Desert Botanical Garden. 24

References Ayensu, Edward S., and Robert A. DeFilipps, 1978. Endangered and Threatened Plants of the United States. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institu- tion and World Wildlife Fund. Manheim, Bruce S., and Michael J. Bean, 1984. Undermining the plant-protection effort. Garden (July-August): 2-5. McMahan, Linda R., 1980. Legal protection for rare plants. American University Law Review 29(3): 515-569. 1984. What is protection? Tennessee Conservationist 50 March-April): 5-7. New England Wild Flower Society, 1984. Nursery Source List: Wildflowers and Native Plants. Framing- ham, Massachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society [Hemenway Road, Framingham 01701].] . Sutter, Robert, 1985. Venus flytrap threatened primarily by habitat loss. TRAFFIC (U.S.A.) 6(2): 13. Umted States Fish and Wildlife Service, 1980. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species. Federal Register 45(242): 82,480-82,569 (December 15).). 1984. Endangered and Threatened and 1984. A stand of saguaros (Cereus giganteus) in the Saguaro Wildlife Plants, July 20, Washington, National Monument, near Tucson, Arizona. Saguaros D. C.: Department of the Interior [18th and C often are used in outdoor landscaping. Streets, NW, Washington 20240].

Linda R. McMahan is Senior Program Officer for Botany, Center for Plant Conservation, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She received her doctorate in botany from The University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and her law degree from the American University in 1981. In addition to having taught for several years, she has worked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of the Interior, and the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. before coming to the Center for Plant Conservation. 25

Native-Plant Societies in the United States

Over half of the states in the Union now have societies devoted to preserving, collecting, and cultivating native species of plants

Native-plant societies, relatively new phenomena, exist in most of the United States (thirty-three at last count). Dedicated to studying, preserving, and bringing into cultivation the plants of a state or region, they draw attention to the beauty and special virtues of wild plants raised under cultivation. In addition to the state societies, there are regional societies with the same or similar goals (the New England Wild Flower Society, for example). A list of the statewide, or "state- specific," native-plant societies follows.

Alabama Wildflower Society Native Plant Committee Attention: George Wood Hawaii Botanical Society Route 2, Box 115 c/o Department of Botany Northport 35476 University of Hawaii Honolulu 96822 Alaska Native Plant Society Post Office Box 141613 Idaho Native Plant Society Anchorage 99514 ’ Post Office Box 94511 Boise 83707 Arizona Native Plant Society Post Office Box 41206 Illinois Native Plant Society Tucson 857177 Department of Botany Southern Illinois University Arkansas Native Plant Society Carbondale 62901 Attention: Don Peach Route 1, Box 282 Kansas Wildflower Society Mena 71953 c/o Mulvane Art Center Washbum University California Native Plant Society Topeka 66621 909 Twelfth Street #1166 Sacramento 95614 Louisiana Native Plant Society Attention: Richard Johnson Colorado Native Plant Society Route 1, Box 151 Post Office Box 200 Saline 71070 Fort Collins 80522 Maryland Native Plant Society Florida Native Plant Society Attention: Scaffidi 1203 Orange Avenue 14720 Claude Lane Winter Park 32789 Silver Spring 20904 Georgia Botanical Society Michigan Botanical Club Attention: Marie Mellinger Matthaei Botanical Gardens Route 1 1800 North Dixboro Road Tiger 30576 Ann Arbor 48105 26

Minnesota Native Plant Society Oregon Native Plant Society 220 Biological Sciences Center , 393 Ful Vue Drive University of Minnesota Eugene 97405 Saint Paul 55108 Pennsylvania Native Plant Society Mississippi Native Plant Society 1806 Commonwealth Building Attention: Travis Salley 316 Fourth Avenue 202 North Andrews Avenue Pittsburgh 15222 Cleveland 38732 Tennessee Native Plant Society Missouri Native Plant Society Department of Botany Post Office Box 6612 University of Tennessee Jefferson City 65102-6612 Knoxville 37916

Nevada Native Plant Society Native Plant Society of Texas Post Office Box 8965 Post Office Box 23836 Reno 89507 Denton 76204

New Jersey Native Plant Society Utah Native Plant Society Frelinghuysen Arboretum 1050 East Oakridge Circle Post Office Box 1295R Sandy 84070 Morristown 07960 Virginia Wildflower Preservation Society Native Plant Society of New Mexico Post Office Box 844 Post Office Box 59177 Annandale 22003 Santa Fe 87502 Washington Native Plant Society North Carolina Wild Flower Preservation Attention: Dr. Arthur R. Kruckenberg Society Department of Botany c/o North Carolina Botanical Garden University of Washington 457-A Totten Center Seattle 98195 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill 27514 West Virginia Native Plant Society c/o Herbarium Ohio Native Plant Society Brooks Hall Attention: Ann Malmquist West Virginia University 6 Louise Drive ._ Morgantown 26506 . Chagrin Falls 44022 _ Wyoming Native Plant Society Oklahoma Native Plant Society Post Office Box 1471 Attention: Dr. John Taylor Cheyenne 82001 Route 1, Box 157 Durant 747011 -E. A. S. Hardy Aroids in the Garden Judy Glattstein

Though not showy plants and with only a modest following among plant lovers, the hardy aroids are interesting, display many virtues in cultivation, and attract "a different class of gardeners"

The Arum Family, or Araceae, consists of tion, especially in the United States. They about fifteen genera, most of them tropi- are, therefore, unusual and have the cal but of wide distribution. Some of the appeal of novelty. tropical members of the family have long Aroids contain a bitter substance, calci- been under cultivation, especially in east- um oxalate, and are little bothered by ern Asia and the Pacific Islands. Taro pests. Slugs, mice, rabbits, and deer find (Colocasia esculenta) and several species them decidedly unpalatable. When aroids of Xanthosoma (yautia), for example, are are used for food, the calcium oxalate grown for their edible tubers as staple first must be destroyed by heat. Garden- sources of starch. Other tropical species ers should be careful to wash their hands are handsome foliage plants used in the after handling berries or a bruised tuber. temperate zones for summer bedding (Ca- Once, after cleaning Aris~ma seeds, I ladium) or as houseplants (Aglaonema, inadvertently touched my mouth. The Dieffenbachia, Monstera, Philodendron). resulting unpleasant tingling and numb- Others are used by florists as cut flowers ness took several hours to wear off. (Anthurium, Calla~.I. My garden in Wilton, Connecticut, is Some members of the family are hardy, shaded by mature white oaks (Quercus notably Aris~ma, Arisarum, Arum, Lysi- alba). Understory trees are dogwood chiton, and Symplocarpus. The Araceae (Cornus florida) and black birch (Betula might seem a poor prospect for garden- lenta). The Araceae I raise are quite worthy plants to those familiar only with hardy in Wilton, which is situated in Ar- the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus fc~tid- nold Arboretum Hardiness Zone 6 (-5 us) of New England’s swamps. I have en- Fahrenheit to 5 Fahrenheit). In fact, the joyed cultivating representatives of sever- temperature once dipped to -8 Fahren- al genera, some for their flowers, some for heit, and there were no losses. The soil in their foliage. the garden is a good loam, which I keep Aroids have a modest following, appear- mulched with leaves for a constant supply ing in an occasional article, mentioned of humus; as in most of Connecticut, the briefly in gardening books. Visitors to my pH is rather low (acid). Other plants I use garden have admired them; they have sev- in the garden include such American wild- eral points of appeal. Many of the aroids flowers as Trillium, Sanguinaria canaden- I discuss in this article are rare in cultiva- se (bloodroot), Hexastylis spp. (evergreen 28

gingers from the southeastern states), Northeast are low in phosphorus, and pot- Phlox stolonifera, Phlox divaricata, and ash is especially useful for tuberous many kinds of ferns. Other shade-tolerant plants. It is not safe to use bonemeal in plants, such as hostas, epimediums, and my garden because it attracts skunks, primroses, also do well under these condi- which dig up the tubers looking for bones. tions. They do not eat the tubers, but it is a nui- Since I have to obtain most of the a- sance to replant them. Nitrogen is ap- roids from abroad, I prefer to receive plied in the spring, in the form of dried them in the autumn. They are completely blood, cottonseed meal, or leather tank- dormant at this time, and the tubers travel age. Fertilization after the first year is usu- well and arrive in excellent condition. If ally not required. The constant mulch of they are shipped in the spring, there is leaves seems to keep the plants growing the risk that they will break dormancy in good condition. while in transit. New growth can be dam- An alternative way of obtaining these aged either by the confines of the ship- plants is to raise them from seed. I soak ping container, or by rot. As soon as the dried berries in a little tepid water for an tubers are received they are planted hour or so, until the coat softens. Then, I directly in the garden. The area is spad- rub the seeds gently between paper tow- ed over, and extra compost is added if els and separate the seed. Each berry necessary. I fertilize with muriate of has one to four seeds. I sow the seeds in potash and superphosphate. Soils in the a sterile mix of half potting soil and half

The familiar skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) Lysichiton americanum in flower in the wild, Washing- of New England’s swamps. This and all other ton, D. C. photographs accompanying this article were taken by the author. 29

Jiffy-mix® or Pro-mix@, with enough sharp gressed from an asexual to a male and sand for good drainage. (I sow them thin- finally to a female state, remaining in the ly enough that I won’t have to prick them last state. Many plants-Ilex and Myrica, out for a year.) I cover the the seeds well, for example-have single-sexed plants water them, and wait. Fresh seeds will ger- that are either male or female and that minate promptly under growth lights. remain so for the life of the individual Older seeds will germinate more slowly, plant, a condition called "dioecious." The and outdoor conditions slow the germina- transitional nature of the sexual state of tion process somewhat. Arisxma is referred to as "paradioe- My biggest problem has been to keep cious."" the plants through their dormant stages. While the garden site may be quite Aris~rna damp, pot-grown plants rot with the great- In North America there are two species est of ease. At the same time, small tu- of Arisa?ma, Arisxma triphyllum, which bers dry out quickly. It is difficult to find has four subspecies, and Arisxma dra- the correct balance. Second-year plants contium of the southeastern states. can go into a prepared site in the garden Aris~ma triphyllum (Linnxus) Torrey and should begin flowering in their third is found from the Gaspe Peninsula, or fourth year. I have used this method southern Quebec and Ontario, Wisconsin with several species of Arisxma and with and Minnesota south to eastern Texas Arum italicum. Aris~ma seeds do not and southern Florida, growing in moist, need a period of stratification but will ger- shady woodlands. There are four sub- minate during the autumn they ripen if specific populations, with widespread hy- they are sown indoors. Sown outdoors in brid swarms. the autumn they will, of course, germi- Arisxma triphyllum ssp. triphyllum is nate the following spring. The production the most widespread. Its height varies of seeds is generous, one spadix of Ari- with growing conditions. I have seen sxma sikokianum having from one to specimens that were dwarf in the wild four seeds in a berry, for a total of five reach two feet in height in the garden with hundred eighty-seven seeds. Plants of Ari- richer soil and ample water. Typically, it s~ma sikokianum often begin to flower in has one or two leaves, each bearing three their third year. Once established, the leaflets, which are glaucous beneath. The plants are most agreeable. I have dug spathe may vary in color from green to one up in full bloom, potted it for a rock- green-and-purple striped, to chocolate garden show, and replanted it in the gar- purple. The name ’Zebrinum’ is often ap- den without any difficulty or damage to plied to cultivars whose spathes are the plant. purple to bronze and have whitish longitu- The flowering of Arisxma follows an dinal stripes inside. An interesting variant unusual pattern. Immature corms, from has recently been discovered by Peggy either seeds or offsets, are asexual and French in Wilton, Connecticut. It has pro- have a single foliage leaf. As corms in- nouncedly white-veined leaves and crease in size after their first year, they comes true from seed. reach sexual maturity, producing two The second subspecies, which I have leaves and one scape. Smaller (lighter) seen in several gardens, is Arisxma tri- corms are male, heavier corms are invari- phyllum ssp. stewardsonii. This is a ably female, the sexual state having pro- northern variant in which the spathe is 30

green and strongly fluted with white site. The leaf is solitary, three-parted, and ridges on the outside. It tends to appear a glossy mid-green; it appears after later in the spring than the other sub- flowering, which occurs early in June. species and grows consistently in moist The spathe is very beautifully marked sites. Its leaves are never glaucous. with pink and white stripes. Mature tubers The third subspecies is Arisa?ma make numerous offsets, which form a triphyllum ssp. pusillum, which grows in good-sized clump in a few years. the same habitat as Arisa?ma triphyllum Aris~ma sikokianum Franchet and Sa- ssp. stewardsonii, although farther south vatier comes from Honshu, Shikoku, and and at lower elevations. Its leaves, too, Kyushu in Japan. Mature plants have two are never glaucous. There are no ridges three- to five-parted leaves that often have on the spathe, and the coloring is nearly attractive silver markings. Its Japanese always completely green or completely name, yuki-mochi-so, means "snow rice- purple, occasionally with thin, green cake plant," in reference to the pure- stripes. white, clublike spadix. The spathe is a The fourth subspecies, Arisa?ma tri- deep chocolate brown on the outside, phyllum var. quinatum, has a very re- green shading to white inside. It flowers stricted range in the deep South, growing in late April and early May. in moist, shaded locations. It is smaller This is an extraordinarily beautiful than the other subspecies, and its leaves plant. In the garden, I combine it with the are usually five-parted and glaucous Japanese Primula sieboldii, especially beneath, although there may be the deep-pink forms that contrast so nice- fewer leaflets, and the the leaflets may ly with the dark spathe of the Arisxma. not be glaucous. The spathe is green and One colony is growing with the Japanese bears no markings. painted fem, Athyrium goeringianum ’Pic- Arisxma dracontium, the green- turn’, whose silver fronds complement the dragon, has a solitary leaf with seven to markings on the Aris~mn leaf. Seeds are nineteen segments. The spathe is more freely produced and germinate readily. tightly furled than in the previous species Plants that produce seeds are more resis- and is green, without stripes. The long, tant to cold and go dormant later than slender spadix protrudes and hangs down non-seed-bearing plants. The seeds are from this. Plants can reach an overall ripe before the berries turn red, which is height of three feet (0.9 m). fortunate because the growing season in In western China, Japan, and the Hima- Wilton is too short for the berries to red- layas, there are at least one hundred spe- den. cies of Arisxma, forty-two in Japan Arisa?ma thunbergii var. urashima alone. Some of them are among the most (Hara) Ohashi and J. Murata is found in beautiful, exotic, interesting, and easily the wild on the islands of Hokkaido, Hon- cultivated plants that could be grown in shu, and Shikoku. The leaf is solitary, with the garden. eleven to fifteen pedately arranged leaf- Arisxma candidissimum W. W. Smith lets of a dark, glossy green. It appears is a Chinese species discovered and col- with the flowers. The Japanese name of lected by George Forrest in Yunnan in the plant, urashima-so, refers to the 1914. It is found in pine forests, indi- odd-even amusing-flowers and is cating a preference for acid soil. Under based on a folk tale. Taro Urashima was cultivation, it does not need a very moist a young fisherman, and it is for him that 31

the plant is named. The dark bronze-pur Creech of the United States Department ple spathe of Aris~ma thunbergii var. of Agriculture introduced it into the urashima arches strongly over the spa- United States. The pseudostem may be dix, narrowing abruptly to a tail-like tip. up to two feet (0.6 m) tall and pale green The spadix has a threadlike appendage or pale green with "snakelike" purple mot- as much as twenty inches (50 cm) long tling. Plants with mottling are more that trails on the ground like a fishing attractive in the garden than those without line. It flowers in mid-May in my garden. it. It flowers in late April to early May. Seeds germinate freely. The tubers may One of my correspondents, with true Ori- make offsets. A colony of this variety is at- ental courtesy, has written, "I sent tractive, not only for the unusual flower yesterday a parcel with the plants. I think but for the attractive leaf. they are of less value in Japan but good Arisa?ma japonicum Blume and Ari- plant for shady garden." s~ma serratum Thunberg probably are Aris~ma ringens (Thunberg) Schott is one and the same species. A common noted in English literature as coming into and very polymorphic species, minor vari- growth as early as February or March. ants in color and size have been The colder winters in Connecticut must accorded specific rank in the past. Dr. keep it dormant over a longer period, as I

Arisaema sikokianum in the author’s garden. This Arisaema thunbergii in the author’s garden. Found beautiful Japanese species is native to the islands of wild on the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shiko- Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. ku, it flowers in mid-May in the author’s garden. 32

have not seen any growth as early as laced with crystals of oxalic acid, which that. Its leaves are large, glossy green, renders them unpalatable, and I had and thick. Mature plants have two leaves, never had a problem with such animals both of which have three leaflets. Each before. I was ready to admit my guilt. leaflet ends in a little, threadlike tail. The Then, in mid-July, two large buds ap- spathe of Aris~ma ringens differs from peared. They grew swiftly and continued those of other members of the genus, hav- to grow, until the single leaf of each plant ing an inflated, curving upper part resem- was bigger than my outspread hand. The bling a very large snail shell. The main spathe and spadix appeared as rapidly. part of the spathe is green in forma The spathe reminded me a little owl, with prxcox, dark purple in forma sieboldii. the tip falling forward for the beak and an The spathe’s margins are folded over like opening on each side resembling the an auricle and are chocolate brown. The eyes. It was a fine plant, but anonymous! leaves are unaffected by a light frost but Ohwi’s Flora is for Japan, and this was are damaged when temperatures drop a plant from mainland China. When in below 28 Fahrenheit. The tubers of Ari- doubt, find an authority, I told myself. I sa’ma ringens have grown larger than took some photographs and sent them off those of any other species of Arisa?ma I to H. Lincoln Foster, the doyen of Amer- have raised, reaching three and one half ican rock gardeners. He replied in early inches (8.5 cm) in diameter. Offsets are August: formed to a moderate extent. By studying my xerox of the pages of Aris~ma fargesii, which is native to Flora Republicae Popularis Sinicae con- the even the Mount Omei in China, is the least com- ceming arisaemas, though text is Chinese, from the rather good mon I grow. Carla Teune, curat- species drawings I feel confident that your plant or of the Leiden Botanic Garden, sent me is from the Section Franchetiana. This some seeds she had collected in China has 6 species, including candidissimum. in 1980, among which were seeds of an Your species is, I think A. fargesii. unidentified of Arisa?ma. species (Since A name! An identity! Though one plant the spathe is an important character for had male flowers and the other female, of a identifying species Arisa?ma, fruiting there has not been any setting of seed. cannot be identified with a plant The foliage is very tender, being killed by taxonomic key.) The seeds germinated the first light frost. well, but some plants succumbed to the winter. Each winter I lost a few more Arisarum tubers from rot. in Finally, the fall of The genus Arisarum A. Targioni-Tozzetti I felt that the two tubers 1983, remaining contains three species, all of which are were large enough to be put into a propa- confined to the Mediterranean basin. One gating-holding bed. May 1984 came and (Arisarum proboscideum) is, however, as did but there was no went, June, sign hardy in my garden. of either remaining tubers. The winter Arisarum proboscideum (Linnaeus/ Savi had been too cold for them, I thought, is often called the mousetail arum. Small- and I hadn’t them planted deep enough. er (more dwarf) than most species of Ari- I them from the Or should have protected sxma, it has a creeping rhizome and and that many mice, voles, chipmunks sends up a mass of small leaves. The I that the latter infest my garden. doubted spathe has a threadlike tip that protrudes are was true, for all parts of an Aris~ma from the leaves and looks rather like a 33

mouse’s tail. Culture is similar to that members of Arisa?ma, which is to say, woodland conditions of soil high in organic matter, moist but not soggy, and shaded.

Arum The genus Arum Linnxus consists of approximately twelve species, most of them native to the Mediterranean basin, two to the British Isles. All are tuberous. Their flowers are unisexual, but unlike that of Arisxma the spadix Arum bears both male and female flowers. Arum maculatum is the species com- monly found in Great Britain. The large, green, arrow-shaped leaves emerge in the spring. Often the leaves are splashed with black or purple spots. Flowering oc- Arisaema japonicum in the author’s garden, Dr. John curs soon afterward. In autumn, clusters Creech of the United States Department of Agricul- of brilliant orange-red berries appear and ture introduced this to the United States. species make a handsome display. Arum macu- latum is valuable as a garden plant because it will grow and fruit in heavy shade. Arum italicum (as Arum italicum ssp. neglectum) is less commonly found in the British Isles. Arum italicum ssp. itali- cum, the form occurring in Europe, has green leaves with veins marked in creamy white; it is thus the more inter- esting garden plant. In addition, its leaves begin their growth in the autumn, persist through the winter, and go dor- mant in midsummer. If an exceptionally bad season destroys the foliage over the winter, a secondary set will emerge in the spring. The spathe varies in color from creamy white to pale green. The berries of this species also give a handsome display in autumn. Two especially attrac- tive leaf forms have been given cultivar Close-up of the flower of Arisaema fargesii in the names, ’Pictum’ and ’Marmoratum’. Be- author’s An uncommon it hails garden. species, from cause of the autumn berries and winter Mount Omei in China. This plant was grown from seed collected in China by Carla Teune of the Leiden foliage, this is a choice species for Botanic Garden. adding interest to the shady woodland 34

garden. The seeds ripen in autumn and gardener. Perhaps other gardeners will be- germinate the following spring. come interested enough in these plants through this article to attempt to cultivate Pinellia them, as well as other hardy species, and The genus Pinellia consists of perhaps would be willing to share their information half a dozen species native to China and with me. Japan. The leaves appear with the flow- ers, which are monoecious. The leaves Sources Alfred Evans. The Peat Garden and Its Plants. are simple or three- to seven-lobed. London: Dent, 1974. xi + 164 pages. Pinellia ternata and Pinellia tripartita Andrew Henderson. Dragon plants and mousetails. are the two species listed in Ohwi’s Flora The Garden, Volume 106, Number 1, pages of Japan. Both are small plants four to 13 to 17 (January 1981).(. eight inches (10 to 20 cm) tall. Their roots Donald C. Huddleston. The North American of Arisxma are additional small tubers are species /Araceae)-"Jack-in-the- tuberous; Pulpit." Aroideana, Volume 7, Number 1, at level. In both produced ground pages 15 to 17 (1984). species, the leaves are green and three- Will Ingwersen. Lords and ladies in the garden. lobed. Owhi mentions Pinellia ternata as Country Life, pages 1,654 to 1,655 (June 7, quite common in cultivated fields and 1984). roadsides. This, with its habit of Tokujiro Maekawa. On the phenomena of sex coupled transition in Aris~ma japonica Bl. joumal of extra tubers at the soil surface producing the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial might indicate a certain weediness. University, Volume 13, Number 3, (June Spathes are green or purplish. Flowering 1924). occurs in summer. Brian Mathew. Dwarf Bulbs. London: Batsford, for the Horticultural 1973. 240 In November 1986 a friend sent me Royal Society, pages. some tubers of Pinellia cordata from Ja- . The Larger Bulbs. London: Batsford, in pan. While I have not yet found any refer- association with the Royal Horticultural ences to this species (Hortus Third, for Society, 1978. 156 pages. example, does not list Pinellia at all), I S. J. Mayo. A survey of cultivated species of Aris~ma. Plantsman, Volume 3, Number 4, assume that Pinellia cordata has simple pages 193 to 209 (March 1982). rather than lobed leaves. to According Nicholas Nickou. A unique jack-in-the-pulpit. my friend, people generally raise it in Bulletin of the American Rock Garden pots in Japan, apparently to have easy Society, Volume 43, Number 3, page 138 access to the fragrant plants. (Summer 1985). Ohwi. Flora Edited Frederick Nowhere have I found reference to the Jisaburo of Japan. by G. and H. Walker. I Meyer Egbert Washington, pleasant aroma that this aroid has. D. C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1965 (reprinted smelled it for the first time in Lincoln and 1984). ix + 1,067 pages. Laura Louise Foster’s garden during the summer of 1986, at the suggestion of my friend Takeo Nihei, who was visiting the United States at the time. Obviously, Judy Glattstein is a landscape consultant who spe- the use there is more to a plant than its botanical cializes in perennial-border design and of native plants in the landscape. An avid horticulturist, description. she chairs the Connecticut Chapter of the Ameri- The aroids are not hardy splashy, can Rock Garden Society and teaches at the New showy flowering plants like roses or chrys- York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic anthemums. They have a different kind of Garden. flower, interesting to a different class of 35

BOOKS

Gathering the Desert, by Gary Paul Nabhan. During a full moon, go south of the border, Illustrated by Paul Mirocha. Tucson: Univer- between the Colorado River delta and the Pinacate lava fields. take sity of Arizona Press, 1985. ix + 209 pages. Stop your vehicle, $19.95. your shoes off, and walk. Walk toward the soft shape on the horizon, dunes like hips of women sleeping on their sides. Wander through the tracks of sidewinders, lizards, and beetles. Look down DAVID C. MICHENER windswept bushes, at your toes. There it is, like another moon coming up through the sand: sandfood, reflecting back at you. Gathering the Desert is delightful and sly, sly in a Each of the book’s twelve consid- roguish way: , chapters ers but one plant and its anthropological set- Juan Espinosa... posed there for a mo- ting. Nabhan’s style, as evidenced in such ment, dwarfed by the tall rock walls of as "Mescal Bancanora: Canyon de Guadalupe, the stone image of chapter headings the Virgin looking down upon him. Drinking away the Centuries" and "For the "Do you know why they call these fruits Birds: The Red-Hot Mother of Chiles," is to chichicoyotas?" he asked in Spanish, a mix humor with observations on the cultural quizzical look on his face. and natural history of the plant. In "Mescal "No, why?," I replied, sensing that his Bancanora" one learns how is fer- answer might be one of numerous folk Agave variants. The name chichicoyota is used mented to produce an alcoholic beverage and for several species of wild gourds belonging then how overharvesting of the plants is en- to the genus Cucurbita.... dangering the nectar-feeding bats that polli- he his hat "Pues," whispered, tipping nate them. "For the Birds" introduces Jesuit back, looking around to see if anyone else was within eye- or earshot.... missionaries, mining claims, coevolutionary interactions of birds and chiles, and resis- Thus is the reader introduced to the book’s tance to phytopathic viruses into a mix as humorously titled final chapter, "Good to the spicy as any chile. Perhaps best of all is Bitter End: Wild Desert Gourds." "Tepary Beans and Human Beings at Gathering the Desert is more than just an Agriculture’s Arid Limits.’’ Here, twin ethnobotanical study of twelve native Sono- themes of discovery and irony organize a ran Desert plants; it is a piece of literature botanical query into "the value of being " punctuated with scientific notes, social com- ephemeral." mentary, and folklore. Nabhan repeatedly Can writing that is delightful, roguishly sly, evokes an indelible sense of place, be it physi- and literary also be scientifically accurate? cal or cultural. As only one example, he closes The basic answer is, "Yes," an answer his essay-chapter "Sandfood and Sand Pa- butressed by the twenty-two-page "Biblio- pago : A Wild Kind of Mutualism" with subtle graphic Essay" that links the text to the realm yet pellucid imagery: of research literature. I have reservations 36

about some of the "coevolutionary scenar- ios," however, which are implicitly pre- sented as facts. They are valid scenarios so long as they are represented as such: I much appreciate the tone of Nabhan’s scenario for sandfood-"a wild kind of mutualism." Plau- sible, and "wild!" In 1986, Gathering the Desert won the prestigious John Burroughs Medal, which is awarded to the outstanding piece of nature writing published during the preceding calen- dar year. Read Gathering the Desert and enjoy it-the illustrations, the text, and the images evoked.

David C. Michener directs the Arnold Arboretum’s Living Collections Verification Project.