Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from BHL-SIL-FEDLINK https://archive.org/details/arnoldia47arno MAY 1 1987 Winter 1987 The Magazine of the Arnold Arboretum amoldia Volume 47 Number 1 Winter 1987 Amoldia (ISSN 0004-2633; USPS 866-100) is published quarterly, in winter, spring, summer, and fall, by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. 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, Subscriptions Manager, Amoldia, The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Amoldia The Arnold Arboretum Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795. Copyright © 1987, The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Edmund A. Schofield, Editor Peter Del Tredici, Associate Editor Helen G. Shea, Subscriptions Manager Marion D. Cahan, Editorial Assistant (Volunteer) Jan Brink, Research Assistant (Volunteer) Amoldia is printed by the Office of the University Publisher, Harvard University. Front cover: A fruiting branch of Ilex opaca Aiton. From a glass transparency in the Archives of the Ar- nold Arboretum. ( See page 2.) Inside front cover: The buttressed trunk of a Metasequoia glyptostro- boides H. H. Hu &. Cheng tree growing in the Bailey Arboretum, Locust Valley, New York ("Bailey 1"). Photograph by John E. Kuser. (See page 14.) Inside back cover: Ilex pedunculosa Miquel growing in a schoolyard in Kamo, Kyushu, Japan. This photo- graph was taken on March 4, 1914, by Ernest H. Wil- son. From the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. (See page 2.) Back cover: Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii', a vigorous holly cultivar and one of the parents of Ilex 'Lydia Morris'. Photograph by Donald Wyman. (See page 12.) Page 2 A Diversity of Hollies Polly Hill 14 RESEARCH REPORT Clonal and Age Differences in the Rooting of Metasequoia glyptostioboides Cuttings John E. Kusei 20 BOTANY: THE STATE OF THE ART How Development's Clock Guides Evolution John W. Einset 26 BOOKS 2 Silva of North America Tab. XLV. f E. Faxon. del ILEX OPACA. A. A . Rii icraux . // 'rex f. Imp.F. Toneur, Rarer A Diversity of Hollies Polly Hill Decades of work on Martha's Vineyard have yielded valuable insights into the hardiness of hollies — and numerous new cultivars as well Hollies ( Ilex spp.) have long been popu- lar. During the festive Christmas season their bright berries and shiny, prickly leaves are enjoyed widely. But most peo- ple are unaware of the great— and increasing — diversity of hollies available for a variety of landscape situations. The beauty of hollies deserves more than passing admiration. In fact, when one becomes aware of their varied charms, holly collecting can become an addiction. Their flowers, mostly white, are small, inconspicuous, and sweetly scented in May, when most species come into flower. Their leaves have an unlimited variety. Some hollies have spiny, others have spineless, leaves, while still others have both spiny and spineless leaves. The leaves may be long and slender, short and fat, thin or leathery, round, elliptic, serrated or entire, quilted or smooth. Their fruits, borne only by female plants, may be red, orange, yellow, black, or greenish white to pinkish white. Many species of holly are beautiful for their branching, which can be layered, upright, pendant, or twiggy. The hollies I know and will des- Flowering and Fruiting Branches, Flowers, and Fruits of Ilex opaca Aiton. Drawing by Charles E. Faxon. Originally pubhshed in Charles Sprague Sar- gent's Silva of North America (Volume 1, 1891). cribe grow at ''Barnard's Inn Farm," our summer home on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, an island situated in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Cape Cod. A few of the hollies are native to the Vine- yard and the adjacent coastal mainland, but others hail from Europe or Asia. Only those hardy in Zone 6 can adapt and ma- ture, but my collection has grown in the last twenty-five years, until now there are upwards of one hundred thirty taxa. The soils on Martha's Vineyard are strongly acid, nutritionally poor, dry, and sandy. The hollies endure gales and temperatures as low as -10 F in winter and dry soils in summer. Greatly in their favor are the humid sea air and the per- fect soil drainage. Hex opaca To the average Easterner, the word "holly" suggests Ilex opaca Aiton, a tree native from eastern Massachusetts to Florida and west to Missouri and Texas. It grows wild in Delaware and Maryland near our home. In the 1930s the Farmers Market in downtown Wilmington provided us with sprays for Christmas and a hand- made wreath for our front door, clusters of live berries decorating the wreath. Now, in the 1980s, one can spot holly trees along the highway, but the large 4 Hollies females are gone, and only an occasion- al male will be left undisturbed; both the holly wreath and the Farmers Market are of the past — spent. At Barnard's Inn Farm, I have ob- served that hollies have strong healing powers when damaged. For example, a six- to ten-inch- (15- to 25-cm-) wide band of bark that had been eaten by baby mice from the trunk of a four- to five-inch- (10- to 13-cm-) diameter Ilex opaca tree re- covered after I heaped damp oak leaves high around the base of the trunk, and kept them damp. Tiny points of new bark emerged here and there, until the whole was renewed. (To discourage a Close-up of the Fruit and Leaves of Ilex opaca Al- ton, a Species Native to the East Coast of the United States. Photograph (taken in 1899 by Alfred Rehder) from the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. repetition, we built a barn owl nest in our big barn; mice, voles, and baby rabbits are now kept in check most satisfactorily.) Cultivars of Ilex opaca. All the wild plants I have seen on Martha's Vine- yard have had very small berries. To ob- tain garden-worthy subjects, I brought any F! or F2 seedlings that had self-sowed in my Delaware garden to the Barnard's Inn Farm nursery for trial. The first selec- tion, made in 1960, was named 'Martha's Vineyard'. It has a formal growth habit, making a tight cone, is as glossy as a member of the species can be glossy, and has very large, bright-red fruit. It is hardy and fast-growing, with a strong cen- tral leader. Good reports of the clone's hardiness have reached me from farther north and farther inland. 'Barnard Luce' is named for a descendant of an early settler of Martha's Vineyard, Henry Luce, and the last one of the name to live (about a century ago) at Barnard's Inn Farm. Like 'Martha's Vineyard', 'Barnard Luce' is a hardy, glossy "opaca," in this case from Maryland. It is more open and informal in habit than 'Martha's Vineyard' and shows off its bright-red fruits on long pe- duncles, resulting in a highly visible dis- play. My several trees come from cut- tings taken from a tree I discovered on Maryland's Eastern Shore, near Barber. It was a female, especially selected for its high gloss. Ilex opaca 'Nelson West' is a narrow-leaf male selection whose cuttings were taken from a tree in shady woods near New Lisbon, New Jersey. It is registered, and, though found in 1961, the rooted cuttings have only grown to twelve- or fifteen-foot (3.5- or 4.5-m) trees. This wild plant is lacy, dainty, and graceful in Hollies 5 appearance. Narrow-leaf forms with airy habit are seldom seen in Ilex opaca. A new selection, 'Villanova', regis- tered in 1984, has yellow berries. This was a lucky find nurtured from a tiny vol- unteer by my brother, Howard Butcher III, at his home in Villanova, Penn- sylvania. The shiny leaf is exceptionally broad, almost round. The berry is distin- guished by its rich, deep-yellow color and its spherical shape. The plant is being tested at Barnard's Inn Farm. I raise only a few of the many other named cultivars in existence. Of those few, I rate highest 'Jersey Knight', a splendid male,- 'Xanthocarpa', a yellow- fruited tree from Longwood Gardens; and 'Miss Helen', a beautiful selection from McClean's Nursery in Baltimore. I am raising about fifteen other cultivars — "old timers" and newly registered plants — which I will evaluate once they have grown a while longer. Ilex opaca, after experiencing the series of hurricanes that assaulted the East Coast from the 1930s through the 1950s, was rated second in salt and wind tolerance,- Pinus thunbergii, the Japa- nese black pine, was, not surprisingly, rated first. Now, thirty or more years later, Pinus thunbergii is out of favor for planting anywhere because the pine bark beetle has been killing it by the hundreds. (Fifty years used to be considered the pine's normal life span, depressingly brief for people who love and want to pass on trees to posterity.) Ilex opaca has thus become the first choice among broad- leaved evergreens for permanent seaside plantings. An extraordinary grove of Ilex opa- ca growing only one hundred fifty yards (135 m) from the northern shore of Mar- tha's Vineyard illustrates the species's tolerance to coastal conditions. A low meadow lies behind the beach, and there the old, gnarled trunks of the hollies rise vertically — branchless for about eight feet (2.5 m) — then, making a right-angled bend, horizontally, away from the wind and water. At the tips of these branches one can find a few holly leaves to prove that they are alive and growing. The grove's origin is obscure, but it appears to be spontaneous. Elsewhere on the Vineyard, in a spot of woods sheltered from high winds, there is a wild tree forty feet (12.5 m) in height. Ilex aquifolium Nowadays, sprays of the common holly of Britain ( Ilex aquifolium Linnaeus) arrive on the East Coast in boxes airmailed from the West Coast, where they are raised in the splendid nurseries of Washington and Oregon. The leaves may be variegated or all green; in either case the berries are red and large — larger than those of Ilex opaca. Zone 6 is too cold for many cultivars of Ilex aquifolium, but I planted the seeds from an English holly wreath from Brownell's Holly Farms in 1970 and now, fifteen years later, I have three mature trees flowering in an open field; with great luck, two are female and one male. It has taken nearly as long to bring to flower well rooted plants of 'Cottage Queen' and 'Robert Brown' growing in two-gallon con- tainers. Since 1972 they have grown only to about four feet (1.2 m) in height but are at last flowering in a fully established site. A few highly rated, named culti- vars of Ilex aquifolium are growing at Barnard's Inn Farm. 'Evangeline' is one of some fifty seedlings imported from 6 Hollies England at the turn of the century to orna- ment a waterfront estate in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. My plant, grown from a 1962 cutting of the original tree and now twelve feet (3.7 m) tall and six feet (1.85 m) wide, grows in full sun, its lower branches, only, receiving moderate shel- ter from the wind. As a young plant it re- ceived some protection towards the north- east from a picket fence. 'Evangeline' pro- duces spectacular fruits that turn first yel- low, then orange, and finally a showy orange-red. Its exceptionally long and wide, tropical-looking leaves seem out of place in coastal New England. A Variant Form of Ilex aquifolium, Linnaeus, the Common Holly of Britain. Photograph from the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. 'Balkans' was given to me in 1972 by the late Dr. Henry T. Skinner when he was director of the United States National Arboretum. Dr. Skinner described it to me as a plant known for its superior cold- hardiness. It now measures only forty inches (1 m) by thirty inches (76 cm) after thirteen years of growth in an open field, but it seems firmly established. 'Tremough' is a clone that came from England about 1900. A plant of it came to me from the National Arboretum in a four-inch pot. Measuring two feet (0.6 m) by three feet (0.9 m), it is destined to reach eighteen feet (5.5 m) and to become broadly conical. The cultivar 'Ciliata Major', the gift of M. M. Brubaker of Pennsylvania, rooted and was planted out in a small pot in 1965. It is now a massive cone about fifteen feet (4.5 m) high and ten feet (3 m) across. The first flowers, which appeared in 1981, proved to be male. The healthy rich, glossy, and elegant habit is splendid all year round. 'Ciliata Major' is a con- spicuous landscape subject. I may be able to upgrade the other clones of Ilex aquifolium, which I have rated "B" and "C" at this point, when they become better adapted. Ilex crenata Of the sixteen evergreen species I now am raising, Ilex crenata Thunberg, from Japan, is one of the most successful. The two coin-leaf selections of the nummula- ria group, 'Nakada' (male) and 'Mariesii' (female), are appealing, slow-growing shrubs suited to intimate plantings. 'Green Dragon' (male) and 'Dwarf Pago- da' (female), also of the nummularia group, are eye-catching and enchanting. Hollies 7 Dr. Tsuneshige Rokujo of Tokyo sent me seeds of Ilex crenata 'Convexa', from whose progeny I selected and named the cultivar 'Muffin'. Planted in 1965, it was registered in 1977. 'Muffin' is a dwarf male plant that was first observed in flower in 1978. It has the same landscape niche as the dwarf 'Helleri', but it has proved to be hardier than 'Helleri' in my conditions, and it has a finer leaf and twiggier habit than 'Helleri'. A plant with pale-yellow berries and a spreading habit is Ilex crenata 'Wa- tanabeanum'. 'Paludosa' is another low spreader from the National Arboretum. Both have small leaves and a twiggy ha- bit, reaching greater width than height. The cultivar 'Piccolo' is a tight, round "bun," charming by itself or in small clus- ters. It has been gratifying that mice, rab- bits, and deer so far do not eat these low, easily accessible "crenata" cultivars. Of the many available larger forms, I have been attracted to 'Excelsa' and 'Compacta', among others, when their healthy vigor and easy culture re- commend their use. The species Ilex mutchagara Mak- ino could very easily be mistaken for Ilex crenata, but in my specimens the leaves are larger and the fruits both shinier and larger than those of Ilex crenata. An up- right-growing plant, it is hardy and useful in the landscape. Ilex pedunculosa Picture a bright-red pea hanging on a one- or two-inch (2.5- to 5- cm) thread, draped over a shining, unspined leaf two to three inches (5 to 8 cm) long. Then picture many of these on a graceful, upright tree that can grow to fifteen feet (4.5 m). This is Ilex pedunculosa Miquel, the long- stalked holly from Japan. The growth pat- tern of its branches is more open and less twiggy than those of some other ever- green hollies. The different clones vary in hardiness, but given the right clone, Ilex pedunculosa is a tree for every small or large garden. I find it charming at all sea- sons. Like other hollies it can easily be pruned to make it fuller. Ilex rugosa Another species from Japan is Ilex rugosa Schmidt. It is seldom seen in gardens, but I have found it completely hardy at Barnard's Inn Farm. It is prostrate and does not grow fast, but the branches spread out widely, fountainlike, almost weeping. The vcining of the wrinkled leaves is conspicuous. My shrub from Dr. Rokujo, planted in 1964, is now about five feet (1.5 m) wide. This female plant first flowered in 1971 after seven years and can now be covered with red berries — which are attractive against its flat-lying leaves — when I have provided a suitable pollinator. Since my male plants are too young to flower, I lay branches of my best male Ilex aquifolium on the female Ilex rugosa while they are both in bloom. My reward is an abundance of clustered red fruit on a flat, branching spray of Ilex rugosa leaves, which is des- ignated Ilex xmeserveae S.-y. Hu, or the blue holly. Other "meserveae" hybrids are discussed farther along. Ilex comuta Ilex cornuta Lindley and Paxton has not 8 Hollies proved hardy on Martha's Vineyard. I have a few plants and did raise some others for a short period, but the species is, regrettably, out of range in my area. Ilex ciliospinosa A small tree-form holly, Ilex ciliospinosa Loesener grows to twenty feet (6 m). It has rather dull, leathery leaves that are narrow and serrated. It is entirely hardy and grows more compact in full sun. If grown in shade, it becomes thin and un- gainly, although it will respond to prun- ing. In my experience, the berries, Fruit and Leaves of Ilex ciliospinosa Loesener, a compact, evergreen shrub or small tree that attains some twenty feet (6 m) in height. though bright red, are too few and too smelly to compete for display with many other species. Ilex glabra The shining inkberry, Ilex glabra (Linnae- us) Asa Gray, is the other evergreen hol- ly native to Martha's Vineyard. It is wide- spread throughout the East Coast of the United States, growing naturally in moist woods but developing best and fruiting more heavily in sun. For the most part my soils are too dry, but there are some hand- some plants to be seen in sunshine. The leaves of Ilex glabra are spineless, nar- row, and two inches (5 cm) long. Since coming on the market, the dwarf form 'Compacta' has become a commonly used, dependable plant for public areas. It can be sheared to advantage, to make barrier hedges or thickets. There are nearly white-berried forms. Unsheared (by hand or by the wind), it can reach ten feet (3 m) and is slowly stoloniferous. Ink- berry is a handsome and desirable na- tive, adaptable and easy to maintain. Deciduous Species The more I have worked with hollies the more I have come to appreciate the charming species, hybrids, and numer- ous cultivars that drop their leaves in win- ter. The protracted fall weather that last- ed well into January of 1985 was the per- fect climate for them. They made a brilli- ant, graceful, and natural-looking show in formal settings around public buildings, on sloping hillsides, and in island group- ings along garden paths. The different shades of orange-reds and saturated Hollies 9 deep reds, when mixed, set each other off, adding sparkle to the whole. There are six deciduous species of holly in my garden. Birds love them. One autumn evening five robins so gorged themselves with the fermenting fruit of Ilex verticillata that their eyes seemed to bulge, and they could barely move. The same autumn, a nurseryman told me that his shrubs were so heavy with berries that he had to tie the fruiting branches together to prevent them from breaking. 'Sparkleberry', a cultivar devel- oped at the National Arboretum and regis- tered in 1972, typifies the group. It is a hybrid of Ilex serrata Thunberg and Ilex verticillata Linnaeus (Asa Gray), 'Apollo' being the male of the same cross. Forced to restrict myself to a single pair of de- ciduous hollies, I would choose this pair. Ilex ambigua var. montana Ilex ambigua (Michaux) Torrey var. mon- tana (Torrey and Gray), or Ilex montana , as it used to be called, is a slender tree with long, thin, pale-green leaves. Grow- ing on an exposed mountainside, it can appear dense and distinguished. My seed came from such a location. But in the shelter of my lowland garden the tree is thin and angular. Since I have only one blooming male and one immature seed- ling, I am loath to evaluate the species. This eastern holly, whose taxonomy is still unstable, may well have developed different habits as ways of adapting to the diverse environments in its range. Ilex amelanchier Known in the South as the swamp holly, C The Deciduous Hollies Ilex serrata (top) and Ilex verticillata, the Parents of Cultivars 'Sparkleberry' ( female ) and ‘Apollo’ (male). These two cultivars were developed at the National Arboretum, Washing- ton, D.C. Photograph from the Archives of the Ar- nold Arboretum. Ilex amelanchier M. A. Curtis is not very hardy in Martha's Vineyard's portion of Zone 6.1 have been particularly attracted to its long-peduncled, red velvet berries that are very beautiful for a wildling. My seeds came from the Henry Foundation in 1970. So far, my seven plants have not flowered in the shady spot I picked for them. They grow at the edge of woods, 10 Hollies where it is dry, and only with morning sun. Regrettably, I cannot offer them their preference of a swamp at Barnard's Inn Farm. Ilex decidua The species Ilex decidua Walter, com- monly known as possum haw, is a fine holly now and has an increasingly promis- ing future as more and more new culti- vars are introduced. My first plant trials were from Alabama seed kindly supplied by Mr. Tom Dodd. Most of them germi- nated, but they had a long, downhill his- tory of growth in summer and dieback in winter. Sadly, they were eliminated, but not until I had obtained hardier clones from Mr. Bon Hartline of Anna, Illinois. These Midwestern cultivars, which are slowly maturing in our garden, are 'Coun- cil Fire', 'Pocahontas', 'Sundance', and 'Warren's Red'. I have seen their fruits as grown in Illinois, and one could want noth- ing finer. I found that they could be polli- nated by males of Ilex opaca, which bloom at the same time. The fruits of Ilex decidua last well into the winter, offering food to wildlife after most other holly ber- ries have been taken. Ilex laevigata The smooth winterberry, as Ilex laevigata (Pursh) Asa Gray is called, is native from Maine to Georgia and is entirely hardy with me. I have never yet found the se- cret of germinating its seeds, although I have tried various methods over many years. One plant was given to me by Mr. Hal Bruce of Delaware. The first year it produced a single berry, which made me conclude that it was a female,- last year, however, it had an abundance of male flowers. This interesting plant is actually quite similar to Ilex verticillata and grows in the same habitats in which it does, though I have failed to find it growing wild on Martha's Vineyard. Ilex laevigata has had an evolutionary history similar to that of Ilex verticillata but, Dr. Shiu-ying Hu of the Arnold Arboretum assures me, does not hybridize with it. Fruiting Branch of Ilex laevigata (Pursh) Asa Gray, the Smooth Winterberry. Photographed in 1902 by Alfred Rehder. From the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. Hollies 1 1 Ilex serrata To my eye, the Japanese winterberry, Ilex serrata Thunberg, is a special trea- sure. The horizontal branches are charac- teristic of its mature form. In a class with Acer palmatum when it comes to graceful growth habit, it may be even better known for the great abundance of rather small, red, clustered fruits, which last for many weeks in the garden. A grouping of three or four females with a male makes a love- ly island of sparkle in a semishaded cor- ner. The bushes are five to six feet (1.5 to 2 m) tall and rather open, the better to dis- play their natural form. Ilex verticillata Black alder, as the native species Ilex verticillata (Linnaeus) Asa Gray is called on Martha's Vineyard, or winterberry, is the easiest to cultivate and the most readily available deciduous species. It is stoloniferous in wet or dry soils, fast growing, tough, and showy. Perhaps the finest display of winterberry on the Vine- yard grows on the verges of Mill Stream, in West Tisbury. A single clone has grad- ually spread by hundreds of stolons to make a solid dome a good twenty feet (6 m) in diameter. At the peak of its berry color, after the leaves have fallen in No- vember, it rivals a bonfire for brilliance. By comparison with native New Jersey seedlings, the Vineyard strain of Ilex verticillata is a "good doer." I have named five clones of it: 'Bright Horizon', 'Earlibright', and three others with local Indian names — 'Quitsa' (a place-name); 'Tiasquam' (the name of the island's only river); and 'Quansoo' (the name of a swim- ming beach, our favorite), a male plant that grew spontaneously on the edge of our woods. They differ in details but not in quality or dependability. The name 'Bright Horizon' reflects the impact that our many stands of winterberry dotted along the gentle hills of Martha's Vine- yard, seen against the sky, have on the viewer. The fruits of 'Earlibright' are light- er and more orange-red than those of 'Bright Horizon'. In addition to these cultivars, I am raising cultivars of Ilex verticillata de- veloped by others: 'After Glow', 'Autumn Glow', 'Harvest Red', 'Maryland Beauty', and 'Winter Red'. In addition, there are the cultivars 'Raritan Red', a male, and 'Red Sprite', a dwarf. Until they reach maturity I can only admire them all for the differing shades of red and orange of their fruits — their lavish gifts of autumn and winter display— and eagerly wait for them to mature. There are yellow-berried forms, white-berried forms, and variegated-leaf forms of Ilex verticillata, in addition to these green-leaved forms with red fruits. The search for special wild forms of Ilex verticillata has barely begun, as has the breeding of new and better hybrids. The female clones were all selected from seedlings raised from the fruit of a single wild plant still growing in a nearby field. I collected the seeds in 1958, stratified them for a year by hanging them in a barn, in a plastic bag of damp sphagnum moss. They germinat- ed in 1960, and in 1961 I spaced twenty of them out in my nursery. The first females to bloom were planted out in 1963. Since Ilex verticillata is a highly stoloniferous species, those that were planted too close together are indistin- guishable from each other when they are not in fruit. They form a solid hedge that 1 2 Hollies is as care-free as any I know. Their only pest is a leaf tier that blackens and shrivels the leaves on the tips of the branchlets. Fortunately, the leaf tier does not detract from the berry display after the leaves have fallen. Some Successful Hybrids Of the thirty or more named hybrids I am testing, I will name a few that have adapted well to the conditions on Martha's Vineyard. They have already survived two or three winters in the field. For elegance and superior quality of foliage I would name a group of five siblings resulting from the cross of Ilex coinuta 'Burfordii #10' by Ilex latifolia Thunberg. Neither parent is hardy in Zone 6, but the foliage of the cross is so handsome that I am trying to keep my plants growing. Wind shelter is important. 'Amy Joel' and 'Mary Nell' are female clones. Another clone came from Mr. Bon Fiartline by way of the late Dr. Joseph McDaniel; I believe there are two others. Dr. McDaniel made the cross in Mr. Tom Dodd's Nursery in Alabama. 'Clusterberry' is a three-way cross of Ilex aquifolium by Ilex coinuta by Ilex leucoclada (Maximowicz) Maki- no. A female from the National Arbore- tum, it is still only two feet by three feet (0.6 m by 0.9 m). It is showing itself to be a first-rate cultivar. 'September Gem' [Ilex ciliospinosa X Ilex Xaquipemyi Gable ex W. Clarke) is another good fe- male from the National Arboretum. 'Lydia Morris' [Ilex coinuta 'Bur- fordii' X Ilex peinyi Franchet) was registered by the late Dr. Henry T. Skin- ner in 1961. An early success, it has led the field of hybridizers. There is a 'John Morris' pollinator. 'Shin Nien' ( Ilex opaca X Ilex coinuta ) is a fine male registered by Dr. Joseph McDaniel of Urbana, Illinois. There is even a four-way hybrid, produced by Dr. Elwyn Orton of Rutgers University, called 'Rock Garden' ( Ilex Xaquipeinyi X [Ilex integia X Ilex pei- nyi]). It has the elegance of a tight dwarf, with stylish foliage, and is a top-quality or- namental. The blue hollies (hybrids of Ilex Xmeserveae ) are achieving wide and de- served popularity. I lost the cultivar 'Blue Boy' to cold but have four others — 'Blue Princess', 'Blue Girl', 'Blue Prince', and 'Blue Stallion' — all of them hardy, hand- some, and desirable. Many variegated plants of differ- ing genetic background have grown poor- ly in my conditions, but I do have two plants of 'Sunny Foster' ( Ilex cassine Lin- naeus X Ilex opaca or Ilex cassine X Ilex Xattenuata Ashe). The more sun it gets the more gold there is in its leaves; the more shade, the more growth it makes. Ilex cassine is, of course, tender on Mar- tha's Vineyard, but the hybrid is most at- tractive. I hope it survives and adapts. There is a three-way chance hybrid that I have registered as 'Pernella' (presumably [Ilex coinuta X Ilex peinyi] X Ilex aquifolium). The plant has large, spherical red berries, enormous vigor and health, with a strong central leader and a good rate of growth. J. Franklin Styer Nursery is propagating it. Exploring the Great Diversity of Hollies Readers intrigued by the growing diver- sity within the genus Ilex may wish to join the Holly Society of America (304 North Hollies 13 Wind Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21204). Through the Society, its publications and conventions, they will learn much about hollies and will be able to join in the acti- vities of its members. In Belgium, there is a new arbore- tum, Domein Bokrijk, where as large a collection of hollies as possible is being amassed. There is another, in Korea, whose name, Chollipo, means holly. Its owner, Mr. Carl Ferris Miller, is already responsible for some choice introduc- tions. If one needed still newer hollies to augment the diverse species now in cultivation, he could turn explorer. He might begin with eastern South Amer- ica— Brazil — the center of distribution of Ilex, then proceed to the islands of Poly- nesia, to Taiwan, China, the Canary Is- lands, or even the wooded coastal zones of the eastern United States. In these places and many more there are hollies waiting to be found, propagated, named, distributed, and enjoyed. Select Bibliography W. Dallimore. Holly, Yew, and Box. London and New York: John Lane, 1908. xiv + 284 pages. G. K. Eisenbeiss. Bibliography of introduced Ilex spe- cies and their infraspecific ranks. Holly Society Journal, Volume 2, Number 2, pages 1 to 7 (1984). . Some holly [Ilex] in cultivation. Aiboricul- tural Journal, Volume 7, Number 3, pages 201 to 210 (1983). . and T. R. Dudley. International Check- list of Cultivated Ilex, Part I. Ilex opaca. National Arboretum Contribution No. 3. Washington, D. C.: Agricultural Research Ser- vice, United States Department of Agriculture, 1973. 85 pages. D. E. Hansell, T. R. Dudley, and G. K. Eisenbeiss, editors. Handbook of Hollies: A Special Issue on Ilex. American Horticultural Magazine, Volume 49, Number 4, pages 150 to 331 (1970). Shiu-ying Hu. Letter of 2 November 1978 in: T. R. Dudley, A Martha's Vineyard mystery solved. Holly Society of America. Proceedings of the 55th Meeting, pages 26 to 27 (1978?). Page 27. H. Harold Hume. Hollies. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953. xi + 242 pages. Polly Hill (Mrs. Julian W. Hill) resides in Delaware during the winter and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, during the summer, where she maintains a renowned collection of hollies. RESEARCH REPORT Clonal and Age Differences in the Rooting of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Cuttings John E. Kuser As with many other tree species, the rooting of a softwood Metasequoia cutting depends upon the source and age of the cutting used There are large differences in rootability among the clones of many tree species,- the differences are especially strong in older individuals. A further problem with rooting cuttings is their dependency on age. Young trees will often root readily, but the same trees may be almost impos- sible to root when they become older (Zobel and Talbert, 1984). For the first few years after Meta- sequoia was introduced to the West in 1948 seed was nonexistent, scarce, or sterile. Vegetative propagation was easy by either softwood cuttings (Creech, 1948; Hasegawa, 1951) or hardwood cuttings (Enright, 1958; Connor, 1985). As the original trees became more mature they bore fertile seed more often (Hamilton, 1984) but appeared to require cross-pollination for good yields (Kuser, 1983) . At the same time, vegetative propa- gation became more difficult (Hamilton, 1984) . I became curious about rooting softwood cuttings, a supposedly easy task which I had sometimes found not so easy. I decided to compare rootability of different clones and also to compare the rootability of lower-crown cuttings from (1) thirty-seven-year-old trees, (2) three- year-old seedlings, and (3) three-year-old cutting-grown trees of the same clones as U). Materials and Methods On June 24, 1982, I took ten cuttings each from easily reached branches in the lower crowns of three large trees: (1) the tree at Prospect Hall on the campus of Princeton University ("Prospect"), (2) the Western world's largest Metasequoia tree, at the Bailey Arboretum ("Bailey 1"), and (3) a tall tree in the Bailey Arboretum, near the Feeks Road fence ("Bailey 9"). I wounded one side of the bases, dusted them with Hormodin 2®, and stuck them in peat-vermiculite under mist (five seconds every thirty seconds) and light Saran® shadecloth, in a green- house propagation room at Cook Metasequoia 15 College, New Brunswick, New Jersey. I repeated the experiment three times in 1983 (on June 1, June 23, and July 12) with ten cuttings of each clone on each date, following exactly the same procedure as in the year before. I added three more clones of thirty-seven-year-old trees in the Broadmead grove at Princeton, New Jersey ("Clark 1," "Clark 2," and "Clark 3"). In 1985 I repeated the experi- ment again, with ten cuttings of each clone, from June 27 — July 3. I omitted "Clark 2" and "Clark 3," but added six new trees: a two-meter tree grown from a cutting of "Prospect" in 1982 ("Prospect cutting"), a three-meter 1981 seedling of "Prospect" ("Prospect seedling"), a three- meter 1981 seedling of "Clark 1" ("Clark 1 seedling"), a three-meter 1982 cutting of "Bailey 9" ("Bailey 9 cutting"), and a three-meter 1982 cutting of "Bailey 9" ("Bailey 9 cutting"). I followed the same procedure I had in 1982 and 1983. Not- ing top dieback among the cuttings within a week, I suspected that high tempera- tures on bright days in the propagation room were causing desiccation in spite of the mist. So I made a cooled propagation bed in another part of the greenhouse, using light Saran® shade and mist (thirty seconds every seven and one-half The Metasequoia glyptostroboides Tree in the Bai- ley Arboretum from Which the "Bailey 1” Cuttings Were Taken. This and all other photographs accom- panying this article were taken by the author. The Broadmead Grove in Princeton, New Jersey, Where the “Clark 1,” "Clark 2,” and "Clark 3" Clones Were Obtained from Thirty-seven-Year-Old Trees for Use in the Experiments Performed in 1983. 16 Metasequoia minutes) over a bed immediately adja- cent to evaporator pads along the north wall. With exhaust fans running during daylight hours, I monitored temperatures twenty-five centimeters above this bed. On bright days when the propagation room reached 39 C, the cooled bed's maximum temperature was 28 C. On July 23 and 24, I replicated the June 27 — July 3 series of cuttings and stuck them in the cooled bed. After observing that the second group of cuttings stayed fresh and healthy for a week, I moved the first group to the cooled bed on July 30. Results On August 9, 1982, the following num- bers of cuttings had rooted: "Prospect," 3 of 20; "Bailey 1," 10 of 10; "Bailey 9," 8 of 10. In 1983, scarcely any cuttings rooted; there was much top dieback in spite of the mist, and by October 1, only 1 "Bailey 9," 1 "Clark 1," and 1 "Clark 3" (all stuck on different dates) had rooted. The difficulty appeared to be due to high temperatures caused by many bright days during June and July of that year. On October 1, 1985, I counted rooted cuttings of both the June 27 — July The Lower Pan of the Stem of a Ten-Month-Old Seedling of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Growing in a Two-Gallon Container. The Lower Pan of the Stem of a Fifteen- Month-Old Rooted Cutting of Metasequoia glyptostroboides. See Table 1 (page 17) for the results of this and the other experiments described in this report. Metasequoia 17 Table 1 . Rooting of Softwood Cuttings Taken from Different Clones of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Number of cuttings that had rooted by 1 October 1985 out of a total of 10 cuttings originally stuck on the dates indicated. Those Stuck Those Stuck Clone Source of Cutting 26 June— 3 July 23-24 July 'Prospect' Mature tree 3 0 'Prospect' 2-m cutting 2 2 'Prospect' 3-m seedling 4 10 'Clark 1' Mature tree 10 3 Clark 1 " 3-m seedling 10 8 Bailey 1 " Mature tree 10 5 'Bailey 1' 3-m cutting 10 3 Bailey 9" Mature tree 10 8 Bailey 9' 3-m cutting 10 6 Bailey 9" 3-m seedling 10 8 A Five-Year-Old Seedling of the "Clark 1" Clone Growing on the Author’s Lawn. The tree is about twelve feet (3.7 m) in height. A Five-Year-Old Rooted Cutting of "Bailey 1" Growing on the Author's Lawn. Like the "Clark 1 " Seedling (left), it is about twelve feet (3. 7 m) tall. 18 Metasequoia 3 group and the July 23 — 24 group (Table 1). Those of the second group had retained all their foliage, appeared lush and vigorous, and most often had more roots. Discussion The same clonal differences were evident in 1982 and 1985. The two large trees of "Bailey 1" and "Bailey 9" have not lost rootability, while "Prospect" is more difficult to root. There is no difference in rootability between mature trees of any clone tested and young cutting-grown trees of the same clones,- apparently, no rejuvenation of these clones occurred in one cycle of rooted cuttings from mature trees and then taking cuttings of these. This conclusion agrees with my field observation that trees grown from cuttings of mature trees are much less branchy and have less taper than seedlings. One might expect that, if rejuvenation had oc- curred, the trees would grow with seed- Two Ten-Month-Old Seedlings (left) and Two Fifteen- Month-Old Rooted Cuttings Growing Outside the Greenhouse on November 7, 1 986. ling form. Rejuvenation may still occur after repeated cycles, or it may not. The difference in rootability of "Prospect seed- ling" and "Clark 1 seedling" compared to their respective parents. Unfortunately, I have no data on rootability of the parent trees when they were young,- however, Mr. Jim Clark of Princeton and Mr. Dick Walters of Maplewood grew many trees of "Prospect" from softwood cuttings in the 1950s, and they say (personal commu- nications) that their rooting success rates were fifty percent to seventy-five percent. Avoidance of high temperatures is important in rooting softwood cuttings of Metasequoia during summer. This may be not only a matter of preventing desic- cation, but of greater photosynthetic effici- ency at lower temperatures. In 1960, Konoe reported that at 20 C, Metase- quoia grew faster than Taxodium, while at 30 C the reverse was true; and in my experiment last summer I noted that, while Metasequoia rooted better in the cooled bed than in the hot propagation room, the reverse was true of pitch pine ( Pinus ligida) stump sprouts. In 1982, temperatures in the pro- pagation room may have been cooler be- cause of more cloudy days or more white- wash on the glass roof. References Connor, D. M. 1985. The Cutting Propagation of Metasequoia glyptostroboides. A- zusa, California: Monrovia Nur- sery Company. Creech, J. L. 1948. Propagation of Metasequoia by juvenile cuttings. Science 108 (2815):664-665. Enright, L. J. 1958. Response of Metasequoia cuttings to growth regulator treat- ments. Botanical Gazette 120(1): 53-54. Metasequoia 19 Hamilton, D. 1984. Metasequoia: Re-established in North America after a 13 million year absence. The Green Scene 13(2): 30-34. Hasegawa, K. 1951. Propagation of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng by cuttings. Japanese Forestry Soci- ety Journal 33(7): 239-243. Konoe, R. 1960. Preliminary study on the optimum temperature for the growth of Metasequoia and related genera. Journal of the Institute of Poly- technics, Osaka City University, Japan D-ll: 101-108. Kuser, J. E. 1982. Metasequoia keeps on growing. Ainoldia 42(3): 130-138. . 1983. Inbreeding depression in Metasequoia. Journal of the Ar- nold Arboretum 64(3): 475-481. Zobel, B., and J. Talbert. 1984. Apphed Forest Tree Improvement. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 505 pages. John E. Kuser is associate professor of forestry, Cook College, Rutgers University. He has written several articles on Metasequoia, including one in the Summer 1982 issue of Amoldia. BOTANY: THE STATE OF THE ART How Development's Clock Guides Evolution John W. Einset Shifts in the comparative rates at which organisms differentiate, grow, and mature are one source of evolutionary change Nearly every school child is introduced at some time during his or her education to the hypothesis that ontogeny recapitu- lates phylogeny. This hypothesis, which over the years has experienced periods of enthusiastic acceptance as well as outright rejection in the scientific commu- nity, is usually traced to Professor Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist whose writ- ings on the subject appeared from 1860 to 1880. Briefly stated, the hypothesis ("Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.") refers to the apparent sequence of stages that individuals proceed through as they develop and mature, beginning with embryonic stages resembling distant evolutionary ancestors, then stages similar to more recent ancestors, and so on and so on. In the most frequently cited example, early human embryos are said to resemble fish with gill slits, then amphibians with rudimentary tails, etc. According to the hypothesis, each stage in the development of an embryo (ontogeny) reflects an ancestor in the evolutionary sequence (phylogeny) lead- ing up to humans. Thus, in the course of human evolution, fish gave rise to amphib- ians and they, in turn, to humans. In spite of the fact that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is, at best, an oversimplification of a complex process, the expression does focus attention on an important and indisputable fact about evolution — namely, that new species evolve as a consequence of modifications in existing structures. Or, to put it another way, one might say that a careful examination of an organism's ontogeny reveals evidence of ancestral developmental events that have been either elaborated upon or reduced during evolution. Haeckel, unfortunately, felt that his ideas could be extended to practically all aspects of everyday life, including politics, social relations, and even religion. Happily, modern evolutionary biologists who deal with Haeckel's concepts usually restrict their theories to questions about the origin of new plant and animal species. Probably the most extensive treat- State of the Art 21 ment of Haeckel and the biological impli- cations of his theories can be found in Ontogeny and Phylogeny, a book by Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard University. Professor Gould, whose own research focusses on the evolution of snail species in Burma, uses a clock analogy to show how developmental alterations can ac- count for evolution. To illustrate this, imagine that an organism's development is laid out in sequence, like the hours of a clock, such that "0" to "1," for example, corresponds to early embryonic develop- ment, "1" to "2" to late embryo forma- tion, "2" to "3" to the young individual, and so on. According to Gould's repre- sentation, development is a semicircular clock — similar to a sundial — showing dif- ferent aspects of this sequence and com- posed of three scales: the first (outer) scale denoting size, the second (inner) scale shape, and the third scale time or age. To use the clock, one follows the pro- gression of size and shape (form) in an in- dividual's lifetime by watching the move- ment of hands across the different scales. Think of it as the model of existence or, alternatively, as the ancestral type! What happens to the clock during evolution? If one accepts Haeckel's inter- pretation (i.e., recapitulation), then evo- lution produces new species by adding structures onto the end on the ancestral sequence. In other words, "ontogeny re- capitulates phylogeny" means that devel- opment repeats all the stages (shapes) of an individual's ancestors just as human embryos form rudimentary gill slits, then a tail and then some other seemingly out- of-place structure during the course of their development. According to the clock analogy, recapitulation runs the "shape" hand faster than the "size" and "age" hands. Size Shape Age Ancestral Size Shape Age Progenesis Neoteny Size Shape Age Recapitulation Developmental " Clocks ” Illustrating the Categories of Heterochronic Change Involved in Evolution. Each clock is set at the stage of reproductive maturity — i.e., flowering. In the Ancestral clock, "size" and "shape" pro- ceed synchronously over time. Progenesis also involves syn- chrony, but in this case reproductive maturity occurs ear- lier during ontogeny. By contrast, both Neoteny and Reca- pitulation involve developmental changes in the relation- ships among size, shape, and age. Neoteny, for example, involves a retardation of shape development relative to size and time. On the other hand, recapitulation consists of ac- celerated shape development. 22 State of the Art Obviously, if one thinks of devel- opment in terms of a clock, additional ways of tinkering with the hands, other than recapitulation, ought to be feasible. Theoretically, for example, one could have the shape hand run slowly compared to age and size. Known as neoteny, the result would be an adult with juvenile features,- evolutionary biologists use the term paedomorphosis to refer to the retention of ancestral juvenile charac- teristics in adults of descendants. Hu- mans, for instance, are often considered to be neotenic in several respects, in- cluding the shapes of our skulls, com- pared to ape-like ancestors. Among zoolo- gical scholars, the most famous example of neoteny is the axolotl, a salamander that retains, as an adult, the gills and undeveloped lungs typical of salamander larvae. Not surprisingly, this animal caused considerable difficulty for Profes- sor Haeckel because, after all, axolotl's features hardly fit into a scheme of evolu- tion based on recapitulation. Rather than adding on structures to the end of an an- cestral sequence, it abbreviates develop- ment by eliminating the later stages of the sequence. If all three hands of the develop- mental clock ("size," "shape," and "age") are retarded simultaneously, one obtains a precociously mature individual, small in stature and with juvenile characteristics. This condition, which is known as progenesis, is an alternative evo- lutionary mechanism that results in paedo- morphosis. Several examples of progenet- ic insect species are known, and, in fact, the hormonal basis of this phenomenon is an area of active scientific investigation. Researchers feel that so-called preco- cenes, hormones that cause early sexual maturity in juvenile-appearing insects, might be used effectively in controlling in- sect populations. Recapitulation, neoteny, and pro- genesis are all examples of heterochro- ny, a collective term that refers to any kind of evolutionary change in the timing of developmental events. Although most studies of it concentrate on animal exam- ples, heterochrony is a general biological phenomenon that undoubtedly affects every group of organisms in the world, including plants. Take, for instance, the so-called closed ( cleistogamous , CL) and open ( chasmogamous , CH) flowers of violets ( Viola spp.), Lamium amplexicaule and Collomia grandiflora studied by Professor Elizabeth M. Lord of the University of California at Riverside. CL flowers normally appear early in the growing season, are reduced in size, and fail to open completely to shed pollen. An adaptation for self-pollination, cleistoga- my probably evolved as a mechanism to guarantee fertilization, and subsequent seed set, at a time of year when insect pollinators are scarce. In terms of the de- velopmental implications, the CL flowers reach reproductive maturity (pollen forma- tion) faster than do CH flowers on the same plant, but they fail to complete petal and sepal development. Interesting- ly, the actual rate of petal and sepal de- velopment in CL and CH flowers appears to be identical, at least in Collomia. Thus, the change in petal and sepal growth that results in CL flowers involves an alteration in the duration, rather than in the rate, of organ development. In the language of heterochrony, a CL flower is considered to be a progenetic organ. According to Armen Takhtajan, an expert on systematics at the Komorov Botanical Institute in Leningrad, neoteny also plays an important evolutionary role State of the Ait 23 in generating plant diversity. Alpine meadow races of Potentilla glandulosa, for example, appear “juvenile" at sexual maturity compared to races found at mid- dle latitudes or on the coast. Takhtajan cites carpel evolution and the female gametophyte of angiosperms, as well as additional examples of neoteny in plant evolution. Professor Sherwin Carlquist of Pomona College feels that xylem evolution in species of Erigeron (fleabane) in the Family Asteraceae has involved pasdomorphic events. Apparent- ly, in the ancestral species, xylem ves- sels produced by seedlings were shorter than those laid down later in develop- ment. Several modern species of Eriger- on, on the other hand, produce only short- ened vessels, even at sexual maturity. Heterochrony can also be seen in the tissue-culture responses of woody species studied at the Arnold Arboretum. During the last three years we conducted an extensive, comparative investigation to determine the relationship between shoot-tip response in culture and system- atics. The results of that study show that responsiveness is sporadically distributed among taxa with species in Subclass Magnoliidae generally failing to grow and species in Subclass Asteridae as well as the orders Ericales, Fabales, and Ros- ales multiplying rapidly in culture. In at- tempting to understand the evolution of this physiological diversity, we theorize that differences between taxonomic groups can be explained on the basis of heterochrony by assuming that the ances- tral ontogenetic sequence for shoot-tip maturation proceeded from responsive to nonresponsive stages. Among six spe- cies of Cornus, for example, three fail to respond as seedlings or adults, two re- Chasmogamous (top) and Both Cleistogamous (CL) and Chasmogamous (CH) Flowers (bottom) of Collo- mia grandiflora. CH flowers are about one inch (2.5 cm) long at anthesis. Courtesy Elizabeth M. Lord. State of the Art 25 spond as seedlings only, and a single pae- domorphic species ( Cornus canadensis ) responds both as a seedling and as an adult. As far as practical applications are concerned, the significance of the Developmental clock is that it defines the kinds of new plants that are possible sim- ply by heterochronic alterations in exist- ing ontogenetic patterns. For example, if Cornus canadensis is the result of neote- ny in dogwoods, conceivably a similar process could generate horizontally grow- ing flowering species in other groups, as well. To think of additional possibilities, just imagine the manifold consequences that could occur every time develop- ment's clock starts to run a little different- ly- Tick, tock, tick, tock. . . . Bibliography Stephen Jay Gould. Ontogeny and Phytogeny. Cam- bridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1977. Elizabeth M. Lord. Cleistogamy: A tool for the study of floral morphogenesis, function, and evolution. Botanical Review, 47: 421-449 (1981). Armen Takhtajan. Patterns of ontogenetic alterations in the evolution of higher plants. Phytomorphology, Volume 22: 164-171 (1972). John W. Einset is associate professor of biology in Harvard University and director of the Arnold Arbo- retum's Laboratory of Comparative Physiology. Electron Microscope Views of Collomia Meristems Developing into CL (left) and CH (right) Flowers. Each pair of photographs shows a different stage in flower maturation. From top to bottom: The first two photographs show the early appearance of petals (c, corollaj while in the middle pictures petals, anthers (a) and the developing pistil (g, gynoeciumj are evident. Later stages in petal, anther, and pistil development are shown in the photographs at the bottom of the figure. Based on the fact that early floral ontogeny in CL and CH is virtually identical, the CL flower in Collomia is considered to be a progenetic organ. Courtesy of Elizabeth M. Lord. BOOKS Illustrations of Pteridophytes of Japan, Volume 4, edited by S. Kurata and T. Nakaike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1985. x + 850 pages + maps. Available in the United States from Columbia University Press. $64.95. DAVID E. BOUFFORD This volume represents the fourth in a regularly appearing series that began in 1979 and that eventually will treat the more than six hundred species of ferns and fern allies occurring in Japan proper, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin Is- lands. As with volumes 1 through 3, Vol- ume 4 treats one hundred taxa, providing for each a full-page habit-habitat photo- graph, a full-page line drawing of a frond or of fronds, frequently with detailed draw- ings of critically important parts (scales, sori, etc.), a full-page map showing distribution, and numerous citations of specimens on which the distribution is based. The citations are extensive and take up the major portion of the book. Photographs of spores taken through a light microscope of every taxon treated in the text are covered in seven pages at the back of the book; three pages of documentation accompany these photo- graphs. The book is entirely in Japanese except for plant names and the measure- ments for the line drawings. Despite this, English-language readers can obtain much useful information. For those in- terested in growing ferns, the photo- graphs provide habitat data, and the dis- tribution maps are extremely helpful for determining hardiness, especially if one considers that species that grow on Hok- kaido or through the central backbone and northern portions of Honshu probably would grow in New England and in much of the Appalachian region, and that ferns from other parts of Japan probably would grow throughout the warmer parts of the eastern and southeastern United States. The line drawings (by several different artists) are valuable aids in identification. The major families covered in this volume (their names are given in Japa- nese only) are the Equisetaceae, Isoeta- ceae, Marattiaceae, Schizaeaceae, Pteri- daceae, Davalliaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Cyatheaceae, Aspidiaceae, and Aspleni- aceae, but not all genera in each of those families are treated. For example, Vol- ume 4 covers most Japanese species of Diyopteris, but others are covered in volume 2; species of Pteris are also in Volumes 1 and 4. An unfortunate aspect of the work is the absence of synonymy. The book is of the highest-quality production, and the illustrations and pho- tographs are first rate. For anyone inter- ested in the relationships of North Amer- ican and eastern Asian ferns the illustra- tions alone are highly informative and useful. For the quality of production the book is reasonably priced, but if one thinks of buying the complete set one should consider the total cost of what may eventually be a seven-volume set. Books 27 Additional comments on this series can be found in the reviews of volumes 1, 2, and 3 published in the American Fern Journal (Cranfill, 1982; Price, 1982, 1984). References Cranfill, R. 1982. Illustrations of the Pteridophytes of Japan, Volume 1: A review. American Fern Journal, Volume 72, Number 1, page 11. Price, M. G. 1982. Illustrations of the Pteridophytes of Japan, Volume 2: A review. American Fern Journal, Volume 72, Number 2, page 48 . . 1984. Illustrations of the Pterido- phytes of Japan, Volume 3: A re- view. American Fern Journal, Vol- ume 74, Number 1, page 6. David E. Boufford is Curatorial Taxonomist of the Arnold Arboretum's Living Collections. Native and Cultivated Conifers of North- eastern North America: A Guide, by Ed- ward A. Cope. Ithaca, New York, and London: Cornell University Press, 1986. 231 pages. $39.95 (cloth), $17.95 (paper). RICHARD WARREN This book is wholly directed at the identifi- cation of conifers and at distinguishing them from each other. It gives no atten- tion to cultivation, propagation, or the dis- eases that affect them. The order Coniferales contains sixty-four genera and some five hundred seventy species. In order not to be tedi- ously encyclopedic, a manual, or guide, on conifers, therefore, requires thorough winnowing of the material to be discus- sed. Only then can the size be manage- able and the treatment sufficiently thor- ough to interest horticulturists and taxono- mists. The author has done this wisely, focussing on northeastern North America (Canada to southern Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic shore to Kansas). But even with such defined bounda- ries one cannot be strict. When he was in doubt about the hardiness of a plant, for instance, the author usually has included it. He lists, for example, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pinus ayrcahiute, and Sequoi- adendron gigantea, which do grow in the Boston area, but with considerable diffi- culty. He has not included the "southern pines," other than those, such as Pinus echinata and Pinus virginiana, which are not exclusively "southern." We miss the other southern species, of course, but that can't be helped; the dividing line has been drawn as judiciously as possible. One inconsistency does catch the eye, namely, the inclusion of a drawing of Cypressus macrocarpa, which is definite- ly not hardy in the northeastern United States — nor does the author contend that it is. The inclusion of the drawing is unne- cessary. With the passage of time, the numbers of genera officially accepted in the Coniferales, as in other orders of plants, has inexorably increased. These have grown in the last twenty years from fifty-four (Dallimore and Jackson, 1966) to sixty-four (the present work). Eight have been added in the Podocarpaceae and two in the Cupressaceae. The author lists these in Appendix 2, a helpful tabula- tion of the genera currently recognized. 28 Books According to modern custom, the Taxaceae are included in both Cope's present treatment and Dallimore and Jackson (1966). Cope's tally of cultivars is compre- hensive— 2,669 in all. Many of his de- scriptions are telegraphic: "growth coni- cal, rapid," "growth rounded, dense, branch tips feathery, some leaves needle- like," "growth columnar to conical, twigs cord-like, clustered." Even though some have no description ( nomina nuda), the checklist is useful, since even setting down the name by itself is a form of intro- duction to the reader, who may only be needing reassurance that the plant exists. The illustrations are an interesting and important part of the book. Their best feature is the fine line drawings of branchlets with their attached leaves, clear and simple, designed to show such things as hairiness and grooving of the branchlets, the shape, attachments to the branchlet and presence or absence of stomata on the leaves. They are set along- side the keys principally to demonstrate a decisive feature for establishing iden- tification. This use of focussed drawings to draw attention to a taxonomic point and juxtaposed to the appropriate spot in the key should be used, in my opinion, more widely in books of this kind. The quality of the drawings is, on the whole, of high standard. A few, however, such as of leaf attachments on Taxus, are too con- gested to demonstrate the desired fea- tures clearly. Photographs of one of this species stands at the beginning of the treatment of each genus. These usually do show the habit, but the photographic reproductions are not clear enough in most instances to reveal details of foliage. The author confines himself to vegetative characteristics to establish identification, a praiseworthy attempt at simplification, but like most of us who have attempted to do this, he has frequent- ly given in and mentioned cones. He un- derstandably resorts, for instance, to not- ing the exsertion of the cone scale bracts in Abies fraseri to distinguish it from Abies balsamea. I also wish that he had added other features, such as position of the resin canals in the leaves of Abies. These can help in distinguishing the species of that genus. Furthermore, those who, unlike myself, are in full possession of their olfactory powers, will surely miss reference to odors of crushed foliage. The aromatic odor of members of the genus Thuja, for instance, is strikingly and pleasingly different from that of mem- bers of the genus Chamaecyparis, which is dull and somewhat foetid, particularly that of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. In some places the presentation is slightly confusing. To derive a full de- scription of a plant, one must study not only the separate treatment that appears after the key, but also that contained in the key itself. Pseudotsuga menziesii (the Douglas fir), for instance, appears on page 146, followed by a general descrip- tion, including that of the characteristic cone, but to appreciate the importance in identification of the very characteristic pointed winter bud, one must turn to page 21, where it appears in the key to coni- ferous genera. The index, however, is very good, and everything can be found with assiduous turning of pages. Although outstanding manuals on conifers have appeared over recent de- cades in Europe and Britain, we have not seen one from the United States since Lib- erty Hyde Bailey's The Cultivated Coni- Books 29 fers was published in 1933. This excel- lent manual, like Bailey's the result of work done at Cornell University, is, there- fore, doubly welcome. Richard Warren, M.D.., is an Associate of the Arnold Arboretum and Honorary Curator of its Conifer Collection. Rocky Mountain Alpines: The Inter- national Alpines Conference 1986, edit- ed by Jean Williams. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1986. 300 pages. $35.00. JUDY GLATTSTEIN When wildflowers are mentioned, people tend to think first of the ephemerals of the spring woods — trilliums, violets, blood- root — then, perhaps, of "meadow garden- ing" pursued as an alternative to keeping a lawn. Rock gardening, for some reason, they distinguish from wildflower garden- ing. But ever since Reginald Farrer of Eng- land began writing on the virtues and shortcomings of alpine plants in the early years of this century, interest in them has grown. In the decades since, plants have been brought into cultivation from the mountain ranges of Europe and Asia. In 1934, the American Rock Garden Society was formed. At long last, wildflowers from the mountains of America are taking their rightful place as desirable plants for rock, or alpine, gardens both in the United States and abroad. The Second Interim International Rock Garden Conference was held in Boulder Colorado, from June 28 through July 3, 1986, its theme being "The Rocky Mountains, Backbone of the Continent." A book, Rocky Mountain Alpines, was prepared in advance of the Conference, like the Conference the shared respon- sibility of the American Rock Garden Society, the Denver Botanic Garden, and the Rock Mountain Chapter of the Amer- ican Rock Garden Society. Over forty au- thorities on various aspects of the Rockies contributed material about their special- ties. Hardbound and three hundred pages long, this hefty (8V2 by 11 inches) book is no pocket guide for slipping into your pack as you scramble about above ten thousand feet. It is too big and heavy for that. Rocky Mountain Alpines is def- initely a book for the advanced ama- teur— rather than novice — in rock, or al- pine, gardening. The Latin names of plants are used, as they should be, and fa- miliarity with many of the plants is tacitly expected. Most chapters conclude with a list of references,- there is also a bibliog- raphy of books and periodicals. The book is divided into three parts: "The Roots of the Rockies," "Wild Rock Gardens of the Rockies," and "Rocky Mountain Plants in Cultivation." Black-and-white illustrations of plants and scenery and excellent four-page color sections scattered throughout the book enhance the text. "The Roots of the Rockies" covers the geology, climate, and early botanizing and rock gardening in the Rockies. Maps and charts give clear information on hardiness zones, solar radiation, and precipitation. "Wild Rock Gardens of the Rockies" is divided into five sections. Since it stretches some three thousand miles, from Canada into Mexico, there are regional differences in 30 Books the Rocky Mountain chain. The five sec- tions deal with "Northern Rockies: Gla- cier and Muskeg," "Middle Rockies: Sagebrush and Scree," "Southern Rockies: Peaks and Parklands," "Colo- rado Plateau: Canyons and Color," and "Western Drylands: Plains and Plateaus." Chapters within each section describe a particular area, "walking" the reader on- to a trail and describing plants to be found along the way. A map of the area to be discussed precedes each chapter. For the rock gardener, Part Three (on Rocky Mountain plants in cultivation) is the most valuable part of the book. It, in turn, is divided into three sections. The first deals with Denver Botanic Gardens's experience with these plants in cultiva- tion in the Rocky Mountains. It has six pages of valuable information on seed propagation. In my opinion, Denver Bo- tanic Gardens have an excellent, world- class rock garden. The second section, "In the Garden: Adapting to Micro- climates," is probably the most uneven portion of the book. I find it to be more of an eclectic grouping of information on the cultivation of plants than a discussion about adapting to microclimates. It deals with cultivation under lights and in troughs (containers), commercial produc- tion, cultivation in a rare-plant nursery and in dry sand, cultivation on hum- mocks, and the overall design of private gardens. The information on culture is good and should be helpful to gardeners attempting to cultivate plants from the drylands of the West in more humid climates. The third section, "Around the World: Adapting to Different Climates," has chapters on the cultivation of Rocky Mountain alpine plants in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the Northwest regions of the United States,- Great Britain,- Ice- land,- Czechoslovakia,- and Japan. This section, too, is uneven in quality. The in- formation about climatic conditions and on providing proper growing conditions in the various countries or regions is help- ful. Brief, one- or two-line items about indi- vidual plants are sometimes useful, often cryptic. Rocky Mountain Alpines provides a guide to areas worth visiting for the sake of their floras, whetting the reader's appetite. Its discussions of propagation and cultivation lend hope to the lowland gardener. Most importantly, it focusses at- tention at last on the fascinating flora of the Rocky Mountains. Growers of exhibi- tion dahlias probably will find little of in- terest in the book. Rock gardeners will love it. Judy Glattstein, a landscape consultant, who special- izes in peiennial-boidei design and the use of native plants in the landscape, chairs the American Rock Garden Society’s Connecticut Chapter. She is an in- structor at The New York Botanical Garden and at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Azaleas, by Fred Galle. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1985. 438 pages. $65.00. C. J. PATTERSON There has been a need for a comprehen- sive book on azaleas for a long time, a sit- uation aggravated by the avalanche of new information and registered cultivars over the last ten years. Dr. Fred C. Galle, retired director of Callaway Gardens in Books 31 Georgia, has undertaken to write just such a book. His credentials for the task are im- pressive. Decades of devoted work at Cal- laway Gardens have given him direct ex- perience with the horticultural side of evergreen azaleas, and a personal enthu- siasm for our native deciduous azaleas (the subject of his doctoral dissertation) has schooled him as a botanist. He is a hybridizer and has introduced both his own azalea hybrids and selections, taken from the wild, of native species and natu- ral hybrids. In addition, he is by nature a careful, meticulous, scholarly worker, with a writing style that flows very smooth- ly and is easy to read. To expand the scope of his book he has brought in assis- tance on the technical chapters on hybri- dizing and diseases. The book begins simply, with a dis- cussion on the use of color. The heart of the book begins with a set of wonderful keys and a very brief treatment of azalea nomenclature and taxonomy. Deciduous and evergreen azaleas are discussed sep- arately in a format that describes all the species in that section first and then deals with the hybrids of that section. Dr. Galle has divided the hybrids into groups according to hybridizer, par- entage, and/or place of origin, forming a series of lists. Each cultivar is described by hybridizer, parentage (where known), date of introduction and/or registration, size, growth habit, and color. The lists make up the bulk — about three-fifths — of the text. The lists can be confusing be- cause azalea varieties have frequently been segregated into new categories, where before the varieties had been combined in the public's mind. There is, fortunately, an index of all the named varieties, which allows one to find a particular azalea, even in total ignorance of its origins or hybridizer. The book closes with very read- able and clear chapters on pests and dis- eases, cultivation, hybridizers, azalea in- troductions, and lists of azaleas under several headings. Unfortunately, Azaleas is not with- out flaws. It is a very large volume, six hundred pages in a large format (includ- ing three hundred sixty-six color plates) and deals with a complex subject. No rea- sonable reader demands perfection in a book of such size and scope, but the edit- ing of Azaleas (the publisher's responsibil- ity) is worse than usual. Inaccuracies and misspellings dot the work like plums in a pudding, detracting from the whole. The index is inaccurate, and the photography is mediocre, with many dark, ill-defined, and blurred shots — not to mention one photograph that is upsidedown. Yet not only the editing could have been better. I can only say that any reader not already thoroughly familiar with the taxonomy of deciduous azaleas would have to come away frustrated, con- fused, and disappointed from the chapter on that subject. After explaining that the classification of deciduous azaleas is con- troversial and presenting a tantalizing “tip of the iceberg," Dr. Galle proceeds to pick one system to use and blithely continues using it, failing to tell us why he chose it, or even to explain clearly how the systems differ from one another. In fact, he dismisses years of careful research on this difficult and important problem (including his own) by presenting an outline of other books that have pub- lished the research results. Even a casual reader is likely to want at least a sum- mary of the research; the serious reader 32 Books is genuinely hampered in his understand- ing of this section. There is the additional annoyance of having paid more than six- ty dollars for a "complete" work on aza- leas only to be referred to other books for the information one seeks. Add to this the long list of new evergreen azalea species about which only sketchy information is yet available and one is left with the suspicion that we will need yet another "definitive work" on azaleas in the not distant future. Despite its flaws, Azaleas is still the best and most complete (and certain- ly the most ambitious) reference work de- voted solely to azaleas yet written. Every good horticultural library should own it, and I am sure that many private garden- ers and gardens would benefit enormous- ly from its enthusiastic treatment of this important group of plants. C. J. Patterson is one of the mainstays of the Arnold Arboretum's Plant Information Hotline. A member of the American Rhododendron Society, she is an avid grower and collector of native deciduous species of azalea. U. S POSTAL SERVICE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U. S. C. 3685) 1. Title of publication: Amoldia. A. Publication Number: 0004—2633. 2. Date of filing: October 20, 1986. 3. Frequency of issue: Quarterly. A. Number of issues published annually: 4. Annual subscription price: $12 domestic, $15 foreign. 4. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain (Boston), Suffolk County, MA 02130-2795. 5. Complete mailing address of general busi- ness office of the publisher: The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain (Bos- ton), Suffolk County, MA 02130-2795. 6. Full names and complete addresses of publisher and editor The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain (Boston), Suffolk County, MA 02130-2795, publisher; Edmund A. Scho- field, The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA 02130-2795, editor. 7. Owner: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA 02130-2795. 8. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None. 9. For comple- tion by nonprofit organizations authorized to mail at special rates (Sec- tion 411.3, DMM only): The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for Federal income tax pur- poses have not changed during the preceding 12 months. 10. Extent and nature of circulation: A. Total number of copies. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 4,750. Actual number of copies single issue published nearest to filing date: 5,000. B. Paid circulation. 1. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales. Average number of copies each issue during preced- ing 12 months: None. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: None. 2. Mail subscription. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 608. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 615. D. Free dis- tribution by mail, carrier, or other means (sample, complimentary, and other free copies). Average number of copies each issue during preced- ing 12 months: 3,025. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 3,057. E. Total distribution. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 3,633. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 3,672. F. Copies not distributed. 1. Office use, left over, unaccounted for, spoiled after printing. Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 1,117. Actual number of copies single issue published nearest to filing date: 1,328. 2. Return from news agents. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: None. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: None. G. Total. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 4,750. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to fil- ing date: 5,000. 11. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Edmund A. Schofield, Editor. mm ‘TJt m : | 1 m ! i Spring 1987 l \ S uriAY HERBARIUM JUL 6 1987 Volume 47 Number 2 Spring 1987 Arnoldia (ISSN 0004-26 33; USPS 866-100) is published quarterly, in winter, spring, summer, and fall, by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. 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. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Arnoldia The Arnold Arboretum Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795. Copyright © 1987, The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Edmund A. Schofield, Editor 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: Arissema 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 Asahi during his recent trip to Japan [top] and David Longland works in the meadow garden at the Gar- den in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts. Pho- tographed by Robert G. Nicholson and John A. Lynch, respectively. (See pages 2 and 16.) Inside back cover: Professor Kingo Miyabe, professor of botany at the Agricultural College, Sapporo, Japan. Photographed by Ernest H. Wilson in June 1914. From the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. Back cover: Lysichiton americanum flowering in the New York Botanical Garden. Photographed by Judy Glatt- stein. Courtesy of the photographer. (See page 27.) Page 2 Eight Views of Nippon Robert G. Nicholson 16 Cultivating Native Plants: The Possibilities Susan Stoier 20 Cultivating Native Plants: The Legal Pitfalls Linda R. McMahan 25 Native-Plant Societies in the United States 27 Hardy Aroids in the Garden Judy Glattstein 35 BOOKS 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 as horticulturally storied as Japan was a goal I had carried for years. Now, after my recent first visit to that green Mecca, I realize what an open-ended ambition it was, for I could never have found all of the native species I sought or visited all the gardens worth seeing during my three- week stay in Japan. Of all the world's countries, Great Britain and Japan have attained the greatest promi- nence in horticulture. Their peoples nurture a deep love of plants, and neither will tolerate an excuse not to garden. After all, one can always garden in a window box or single pot, as city dwellers of both countries often do. Great Britain presents the "garden crawler" with the dilemma of choice, for there are scores of first-rate botanic gardens, parks, and cottage gardens to decide among. A visitor to Japan faces a similar problem, but has a compounding problem as well: com- pared to Britain or even the eastern United States, Japan has a staggeringly diverse native flora, one that still contributes new and un- tried plants to horticulture, ranging from al- pines to tropicals, a flora that makes Japan one of the greatest "natural gardens" on earth. In September of 1986, I had the good for- tune of going to Japan, to collect plants for the Opposite: A yukimi lantern in the Rikugi-en Garden, Tokyo. All photographs accompanying this article were taken by the author. Arnold Arboretum. Although I undertook the trip primarily to collect woody plants, Gary Roller, the Arboretum's managing horticul- turist, did draw up a list of targeted rare species for me before I left. During the course of the three weeks, I collected from eighteen sites, about half of them mountains in the range of six thousand to nine thousand feet (approximately l,800to 2,750 m). I visited three of the four main islands of Japan and, between bursts of col- lecting, visited some of the fabled gardens created during the fifteen hundred years of Japanese landscaping. After landing at Tokyo's Narita Airport, I needed to spend a day or two in Tokyo adjust- ing to the ten-hour difference in time. Tokyo, formerly called Edo, is the present capital of Japan but was not a city of importance until 1863, when it became the new capital. It does have some fine gardens but none with the long and time-worn elegance of those in Nara, Japan's first capital, or of those in Kyoto, long the seat of Japanese culture. Even though my visit did not come at the best time for viewing gardens, a number of gardens were recommended to me. One in particular — Rikugi-en — stood out. I: Rikugi-en, the Garden of Poetry Rikugi-en is literally called the Garden of Poetry, Rikugi signifying the six classifica- tions of poetry in Japan and China. Com- pleted in 1702, the garden was designed by 4 Eight Views of Nippon Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, a minister of the Shogun. It is a prime example of a circuit garden, with a main path following the con- tours of a large central lake, one that is dotted with islands of cloud-pruned black pine. From this main path a number of smaller paths wind into the patches of woods on the edges of the garden, often surprising with specimen plants or dappled views back to- ward the central waters. One outstanding specimen was a large, fifteen-foot (4.5-m) plant of Enkianthus peru- latus, usually seen only as a shrub in the United States. The garden originated as a feudal estate, but in the 1870s it came to the hands of a member of the rising financial aristocracy, a Baron Iwasaki. He respectfully restored the garden to its original drawing and descriptions. In 1938 the Iwasaki clan do- Cobblestone path in the Rikugi-en Garden, Tokyo. nated this fine garden to the City of Tokyo. In addition to its outstanding plant materi- al, such as huge specimens of Ginkgo biloba and Acer bueigeranum, the garden features a number of quintessentially Japanese charac- ters. Stone lanterns dot the garden, both the tall Taima-ji style and the more-squat, four- legged Yukimi type. A bridge, made of large, ten-foot slabs of stone take one over a pool filled with vividly mottled koi and large painted turtles, both creatures well settled into their role as the park's beggars. What distinguishes the garden is its metic- ulous upkeep and its balanced interplay be- tween the shadowy woods and the bright expanses of clipped lawn. These lawns are actually a recent feature in Japanese landscap- ing, having been borrowed from the West 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 Arnold Arboretum 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 of Kingo Miyabe, the Garden's first director, Eight Views of Nippon 5 which E. H. Wilson had taken during his stay in 1917. Dr. Tsujii had arranged for seed-collecting permits for me, and within a day I was on the flanks of Mount Asahi, at sixty-two hundred feet (2,290 m) Hokkaido's highest mountain. Mount Asahi has an excellent alpine zone that can be reached by cable car, so I began collecting in the alpine zone and walked my way down. At fifty-three hundred feet (1,620 m) was a series of small alpine ponds around which grew Geum pentapetalum, Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum, Bryanthus gmelinii, Phyllodoce aleutica, and Rhododendron au- reum. This last species is a prostrate dwarf with pale-yellow flowers. Prior attempts with the plant in Boston have proven unsuc- cessful. Perhaps the cooler summers in such places as Maine would mimic its native cli- mate better than that of Boston. The larger shrubby species in this area were limited to Pinus pumila, the Japanese stone pine, and Sorbus matsumarae, a bushy mountain ash with vivid-red fall color. The flora on this mountain terminates at about fifty-nine hundred feet (1,800 m), the soils thereafter being affected by sulfurous steam from an active band of fumaroles. Looking back down from this height, I saw that the ponds looked like chips of mirror set into a clipped carpet of low, green plants, each species contributing its own unique texture. A mile-long trail connected the upper ter- minus of the cable car to the beckoning hot- spring spas below. As if to further my appre- ciation of this custom, a drenching rainstorm took its cue, turning the path into a stream- bed. Despite the rain, this trail offered some of the trip's best collecting as it connected al- pine, subalpine, and boreal forest zones over its short distance. At about forty-nine hundred feet (1,500 m), I collected Tripetaleia bracteata, a close relative of the Georgia plume, Elliottia racemosa. It was growing at a much higher elevation than I expected. About halfway down Mount Asahi, in a forest of Abies sachalinensis and Picea jezoensis, the trail cut through a series of level areas that formed wet meadows. There Meadow on Mount Asahi, Daisetsuzan National Park. 6 Eight Views of Nippon I found a daylily, Hemerocallis middendoifii, a hosta, Hosta rectifolia, and masses of Lysi- chyton camtschatcense, a member of the Araceae with an affinity to skunk cabbage. With long, elliptic, two-foot (60-cm) leaves and an inflorescence consisting of a yellow spadix subtended by a pure- white spathe, this hardy plant would be a bold addition to marshy plantings or pondside gardens. I col- lected a large lot of seeds in the hope that some would germinate. Ill: Rishiri and Rebun, Islands of Flowers Rishiri and Rebun are two islands that have long held a special fascination for plant lovers. They lie off the northwestern corner of Hokkaido and are only fifty miles (80 km) from Russia's Sakhalin Island. Rishiri is the larger of the pair and betrays its volcanic origins by its stunning profile, a sharply ta- pered cone that rises fifty-seven hundred feet (1,749 m) above sea level. (Imagine, if you will, a six thousand-foot island off the coast of Boston! ) Access to the islands is gained by fer- ry from Wakkanai, an active fishing port. It is a beautiful, bracing ride, brimming with Japa- nese tourists eager to visit the Islands of Flowers. The two islands are most noted for their high number of endemic species, particularly of woodland and alpine plants. Since it is a prime collecting area, permits are limited to few seed collectors, but I was able to arrange permission through the gracious efforts of the Sapporo Botanic Garden. To reach the summit from the port takes The alpine zone of Rishiri Island. Eight Views of Nippon 7 five to six hours of brisk walking. As with any rapid change in elevation, the floral diversity also changes quickly, and a good selection of material can be acquired in a day or two. In the lowest zone of the island is found a mixed forest of deciduous trees such as Acer mono var. mayrii, Corylus heterophylla, Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, and Phel- lodendron amurense intermingling with Picea glehnii and Picea jezoensis. Two of the better collections were Magnolia hypoleuca, a plant related to our native Magnolia macrophylla, Magnolia tripetala, and Mag- nolia ashei, along with Skimmia japonica var. repens, a low-growing shrub of the citrus family found growing in the dense shade of a Picea forest. As I continued upward, the ter- rain became steeper, and the woody flora became more stunted. After passing through a belt of Abies sachalinensis intermixed with Betula ermanii, the woody flora diminished in size and frequency. The upper third of the mountain is domi- nated by two species — Pinus pumila, the Japanese stone pine, and Sasa kurilensis, a waist-high, thin-stalked bamboo that forms massive, impenetrable pure stands. The pine is one of the Japanese plants which I found most interesting, as it is a natural dwarf, rarely growing more than seven feet (2.1 m)high. It tends to form dense- ly branched, impenetrable stands and is gen- erally the last conifer seen before reaching the alpine zone. Its range is from mid-Honshu northward and varies greatly in its attitudinal distribution. E. H. Wilson reported it from ten thousand, six hundred feet (3,250 m) on Honshu, but Yushun Kudo wrote that it oc- curred at sea level, growing in sand dunes on Russia's frigid Sakhalin Island. Here it grows on the sea beaches and their immediate vicin- ity in association with such plants as Em- petrun nigrum, Vaccinium vitis-idsea, Loise- leuria procumbens , Linnxa borealis, Artem- isia norvegica, and Fritillaria camtschat- censis. Wilson also reported that cones were rarely found, and this was true. The cones evidently are carried away by squirrels and Sasa sp. on Rishiri Island. Pinus pumila (right) and Sasa sp. on Rishiri Island. 8 Eight Views of Nippon other rodents, as I saw numerous seedlings in clumps, indicating that the animals probably store the seeds. The foliage of Pinus pumila ranges from blue-green to grey-blue, and one cultivar, 'Dwarf Blue', is a fine dark blue. Because of the density of these attractive needles, the low spreading architecture, its hardiness (Zone 3), and its possible salt tolerance, Pinus pumila would seem to be an ideal plant for foundation, seaside, or mass plantings. It is, unfortunately, rarely found in nursery cata- logs because its seeds are scarce and because it is difficult to graft. Beyond the Pinus pumila-Sasa zone, Rishiri's craggy peak is home to a varied alpine flora. Sedum cauticolum, Rhododen- dron camtschaticum, Oxytropis rishiriensis, Achillea alpina, and a ground-hugging spe- cies of Salix I've yet to identify grow among the rocks in chunky, volcanic soil. By the time one reaches this zone it becomes appar- ent that Rishiri cannot be done in a day. Climbing time up and back down takes at least eight hours, and there are many plants to consider along the way. As it turned out, I stayed too long at the top and had to travel the downward path through Rishiri's black sil- houette forest by the light of a poet's moon. IV: Ryoan-ji Temple Garden Half a dozen landmarks — "must sees" — usually are indelibly linked to a country, and failure to visit at least one of them is a traveller's sacrilege. A visit to one of these well worn stops is likely to produce mixed feelings: you feel part of a herd and often have a sense of deja vu, having seen the attraction a hundred times in photographs. Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto is such a site. This famous garden, composed only of five groupings of fifteen stones set in a flat expanse of raked sand, has stretched the definition of "garden" for five centuries. The garden at Ryoan-ji Temple. Eight Views of Nippon 9 The garden dates from the Muromachi Period ( 1394-1572) and is the premier exam- ple of a particularly Japanese style of garden, the Karesansui, or Dry Landscape. Gardens of this style represent streams, lakes, shallows, and rivers by suggestion, using coarse sand, pebbles, and stone to define an imaginary body of water. The style had its beginnings in the Kamakura Period ( 1 1 86-1335) but usually as part of a greater garden scheme. It was not until the middle of the Muromachi Period that dry gardens stood as singular, separate entities, made to be viewed from one spot, usually a raised veranda, and with entry into the space restricted. Dry gardens were con- structed as aids to meditation, as sources of inspiration for the monks of the Temple. Ryoan-ji probably was built late in the Fifteenth Century. Its designer is still a sub- ject of scholarly debate, although the name of Soami, a painter and tea master, usually comes to the fore. It is often thought that the stark black-and-white paintings of the Sung Period in China, of which Japanese painters of the time were aware, may have inspired this minimalist trend in garden architecture. The garden is a part of a large temple complex set on the side of a verdant hill in northwestern Kyoto. As it is the main attrac- tion, a steady flow of tourists is directed by signs through the temple grounds to the gar- den. Although some writers suggest that the garden is best viewed during early morning, when wet and misted, I found it equally satis- fying in the bright, clear sun. Incredibly, and only in this retreat garden, a loudspeaker sys- tem was barking a quick taped explanation of Zen tranquillity to tourists in Japanese. No better symbol of modern Japan could be found. The garden's design is inexplicably power- ful and produced within me feelings of tran- quillity and wonder. Its stones rest in five groups (five and two to the left half; three, two, and three to the right), but the placement within the rectangular bed is so perfectly wrought an impenetrable harmony results. It is probably one of the few gardens in the world that resists second guessing. The only plants that "intrude" into this garden design are the moss that has established itself at the base of each grouping and the treetops that rise be- yond the buff brown, tile-topped walls. Nei- ther was part of the original design. If we define a garden as a place of plants, then Ryoan-ji barely qualifies. It seems to be the progenitor of the current concept of "environ- mental sculpture" or of sculpture gardens. For comparison, I would offer Carl Andre's "Stone Field Sculpture" in Hartford, Con- necticut. Built in 1977, it consists of thirty- six ordered boulders on a triangular plot and was met with outrage when "unveiled." It stands more as an abstraction, perhaps sym- bolizing islands on a sea, a floating world. Today's landscape architects who strive to expand the concept of garden should look to the five hundred-year-old Ryoan-ji before pro- claiming too loudly their new "minimalist concepts." V: Ritsurin Garden The port city of Takamatsu, situated on the large southern island of Shikoku, is the locale of Ritsurin, one of Japan's finest gardens. Composed of a network of strolling paths interwoven through a system of streams and ponds, Ritsurin is a prime example of the Kaiya-shiki type of circuit landscape garden- ing. It offers a constant unveiling of views both intimate and expansive. Ritsurin is a comparatively recent garden, having been constructed over a span of eighty years starting in the late Seventeenth Cen- tury, during Japan's Edo Period (1603-1867). The Edo Period was a time of relative prosper- ity and peace during which the feudal lords vied for honor among themselves through the quality of the grounds surrounding their castles. Ritsurin was such a place. It was 10 Eight Views of Nippon Ritsurin Garden, one of Japan's finest. Two hundred years old, it is located in Takamatsu, a port city on the large southern island of Shikoku. started by Takatoshi Ikoma, the Lord of Sanuki, but eventually came to Yorishige Matsudaira, the first Lord of Takamatsu. His clan controlled the garden for the next two hundred twenty-eight years, until 1875, when it became a public park after the Em- peror Meiji issued a proclamation encourag- ing such conversions. The object of the garden's design is not un- like the Gardenesque style championed in the late 1700s by the Englishman Humphrey Repton. Both seek to incorporate a variety of plant material — arborescent, shrub, and per- ennial— into a design embracing natural forms rather than constricting them into contrived geometrical patterns. It is a representation of nature, following the example of the local regional scenery but constructed with considerable poetic li- cense. The viewer feels that he is walking through a dark woodland in some sections, while in others the vista presented imitates the view from a high hill or mountain. Water and views across water are major features of the garden, with six major ponds and numer- ous streams incorporated into the design. Sited between two ponds is Kikugetsu-tei, an expertly crafted teahouse that dates from the feudal period. Visitors are allowed to unshoe and take tea, and while sipping, it was a dilemma to choose between studying the beautiful craftsmanship of the building or the view of the rocks and ponds outside the slid- ing panels. The finest view of Ritsurin, and one of the best in any Japanese garden today, is from the top of a small, manmade hill in the southeast- ern corner of the garden. One looks over the tops of manicured black pines ( Pinus thun- beigii) across the breadth of Southern Pond. It Eight Views of Nippon 1 1 is bisected early on by a simple yet stately arched wooden bridge. The ends of this bridge are attended by finely cloud-pruned pine, making it look as though it were rising from the mists. Looking beyond the bridge, one sees a small island dotted with clusters of mound-pruned azalea: plants imitating stone formations. As the pond narrows, the eye is drawn farther, on to a formation of three rocks rising from the surface of the waters, looking like far-distant islands. The water's end is sited with a specimen tree of Pinus parvi flora and the simple, minimal, refined teahouse. The gaze is finally drawn past the pond, past the teahouse, to the slopes of Mount Shiun, whose flanks come sharply down to the garden's edge. The pine-covered hill appears as a virtual curtain of boughs. It is a masterfully constructed composi- tion, one that successfully draws the eye across the entire expanse of the garden, past its boundaries, up the side of the mountain to the sky above. This view of Ritsurin is a prime example of shakkei, "borrowed scenery" or "captured landscape." The designer con- sciously frames and incorporates a distant view into the design of the garden. This nul- lifies the feeling of garden boundaries and gives Ritsurin the feeling of an unbounded piece of heaven. VI: Mount Tsurugi From Takamatsu I continued eastward by rail to Tokushima, a city renowned in Japan for Awa Odori, a festival of crazy dances. Want- ing to get into the interior mountains, I in- quired about transportation. On the advice of the local tourist bureau, I boarded a train line which paralleled the Yoshino River, with in- structions to disembark at Waki. Here a con- necting bus into the mountains could be caught. Language barriers prevented my un- derstanding that this bus would take me only half way, and that a surprised hitchhiker would be deposited in sparsely settled hill country. A few rides with local truck drivers took us over switchbacks that squirmed upward. One driver was a small fellow of five The view from Mount Tsurugi. The windswept tree probably is a species of Tsuga. 12 Eight Vi ews of Nippon 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 caipinifolium, 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 species whose taxonomy is a bit muddled. It grows in the subalpine zone with such species as Tsuga diversifolia and Abies mariesii. On Shikoku, however, a short-needle var- iant occurs that some botanists regard as Abies shikokianum, the Shikoku fir. Regard- less of its proper designation, it is one of the most southerly populations of fir in Japan and may be of use in our southern states, as well as in New England. The mountain's chair lift, refuge of the tired and lazy, gives a subtle punishment to plant collectors. You are sped by plants, cov- ered with seed, a mere two meters below your feet. Passed over were Hemerocallis, Rhodo- dendron, and — to the side — massive trees of Kalopanax pictus. Once off the lift, I began walking upward through the narrow subalpine forest. Here were such trees as Fagus crenata, Tsuga sieboldii, Pinus pentaphylla, and the Shiko- ku fir. Its black-purple cones were easy to spot, and in a short while I had made a good collection of seeds. The path in Koiaku-en, the Lord of Okayama's stroll garden on Honshu Island. Beneath the trees grew such plants as Deutzia gracilis and Spiraea blumei var. pu- bescens. Bamboos growing there included Sasa ishizuchiensis and Sasa hirtella. As I neared the top of the mountain the trees became stunted and windblown, often assuming a flat-topped, leaning posture. Sil- very white spires, the remains of long-dead trees, stood as monuments to a lost battle against cold and wind. The summit itself was a broad dome cov- ered only by short bamboos and grasses. From here I could see the terrain I had crossed — sharp ridge upon sharp ridge, looking like walls thrown up to hold the island's secrets from intruders. VII: Koraku Garden Departing the island of Shikoku, I ferried again to the main island, Honshu, for a last few days of collecting, but before returning to Eight Views of Nippon 13 The Crow Castle of Ikeda Tsunamasa, Lord of Okayama. Koraku-en Garden was constructed across the river from the castle, beginning in 1687. the woods I visited one final garden. Koraku- en, in the city of Okayama, is said to be one of Japan's three best large gardens. Like Rit- surin, it dates from the feudal era, having been originally started by Ikeda Tsunamasa, the Lord of Okayama, in 1687. The garden was constructed across the river from his distinc- tive black castle, The Crow Castle, and was reached by footbridge. It was intended as a "stroll garden," but incorporated into the expansive design were many intimate beauty spots and pavilions for tea and composing poetry. The overall effect of the garden is one of sunny openness, with most large trees or dense plantings confined to the edges, while the central portions consist of large expanses 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 having a tall column with a square, light compartment, this lantern was a squat, hol- low, stone circle set on two legs and topped with a hat-like triangular roof. Set onto lawn alongside a crystal, serpentine stream, I could only imagine the beautiful scene at night, with the light of the lantern gilding the water's ripples and its enigmatic outline aglow from a distance. One tree I was excited to see on the garden's edge was Toney a nucifera, an un- common conifer of the yew family. It is a lrage evergreen tree, more pyramidal in habit than yew but with the same overall texture. Its needles, though, unlike those of Taxus, have sharp, piercing tips. Some species of Toney a are native to Florida and California, but their seeds are rarely available. This specimen was well endowed with seeds, half a pound of which I gathered for propagation trials. 1 4 Eigh t Views of Nippon VIII: Mount Yatsugadake A final field day was spent in the Japanese Alps of central Honshu. I had come to one mountain complex in particular, Mount Yatsugadake, in order to collect seeds of two rare spruces, Picea maximowiczii and Picea koyami. Up to this point I had been disap- pointed by the general seed-set in Japan that fall, but on this mountain I was to find a multitude of plants with good seed-set. These two spruces are currently in the Arboretum's collection but date from a 1917 collection by E. H. Wilson. I had hoped to get some fresh seed to rejuvenate our holdings of these uncommon species. A well defined trail was crowded with Japanese hikers, all dressed in gear that reflected the seriousness with which they approached hiking. The lower reaches of the mountain yielded Pinus pumila and Empetrum sp. on Mount Yatsuga- dake. seeds of a number of interesting perennials and deciduous trees. I found a species of Hosta and a species of Halenia, as well as one of Hemerocallis. Many of the perennials will have to be grown on for identification, as most keys rely on floral characteristics. Acer japonicum and an azalea, Rhododendron ja- ponicum, also appeared in this vegetation zone, along with Lindera obtusiloba, a spice- bush with excellent fall color. I soon entered a coniferous belt dominated by the hemlock, Tsuga diversifolia, although a solitary plant of Thujopsis dolobrata, a conifer endemic to Japan, also grew in this zone. It was a low-growing, spreading plant and confused me at first, as I thought I had found a heavily mutated plant of Chamse- cyparis obtusa. Beneath the hemlocks grew 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, "underplanted" with Rhododendron metter- nichii and Vaccinium spp. Eight Views of Nippon 15 . . . And the Sight of Fuji I collected seeds and cones and returned back up to the rocky ridge. From these mountains I had hoped to get a long view of Fuji, which for the entire trip had been obscured by fog. Hokusai, the painter, had once done a series of woodblocks titled "Views of Mount Fuji." My final mountain view of Japan, in the direc- tion of Fuji, was one of thick fog swirling through groves of green firs and blue stone pines. I left the mountain never having had my own view of Fuji, yet I was not in the least dis- appointed. For a plant collector, I thought, it probably would have been just another view. Epilogue Many of the seeds I collected germinated very well, often in excess of our needs. To help defray the costs of the collecting trip, we are offering a selection of perennial and woody-plant seedlings for sale to Friends of the Arnold Arboretum. Friends may obtain a price list by sending a stamped, addressed envelope to: Japanese Seedling Sale The Dana Greenhouse The Arnold Arboretum Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795 Robert G. Nicholson writes often for Ainoldia and other horticultural publications. When not attending to his duties in the Dana Greenhouse or on the grounds of the 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 spelled Pin us 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 has become the national pastime of Ameri- cans. Hand in hand with the increasing popu- larity of gardening has come a growing inter- est in native plants. More and more people are visiting the Garden in the Woods — which is the botanical garden of the New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS) in Framingham, Massachusetts — to enjoy and to learn about the native plants of North America, for ex- ample. Every day the Garden receives numer- ous requests for information about native plants. The general public wants to know how to select wildflowers for specific situ- ations, how to cultivate them successfully, and where to buy seeds and plants — as well as what to do when wild populations of special plants are threatened by development proj- ects. From professionals come different types of inquiries — conservation commissioners seek information about wetland species and their communities in order to deal with the sticky issues of wetland protection and replication, nurserymen seek economical methods of pro- pagation and cultivation in order to respond to the increased demand for native plants in the landscape trade, and wildlife biologists look for information on the behavior of native plants under cultivation, in order success- fully to manage populations or rare and en- dangered species in the wild. All these re- quests for information give a clear signal that there is great interest in the native flora. Why Cultivate Native Plants? At Garden in the Woods, growing native plants reflects the vision of its creator, Will C. Curtis. "It is a wildflower sanctuary in which wild plants will be grown, their likes and dislikes discovered, and the knowledge so gained eventually passed on in an effort to curb the wholesale destruction of our most beautiful natives. This is to be my contribu- tion to conservation." Promoting the conser- vation of native plants continues to be the main purpose of the Garden in the Woods. The conservation message at the Garden in the Woods begins with the presentation of a garden of great beauty. The beauty and tran- quillity that visitors to the Garden encounter is a powerful way of gaining public interest and support for native plants. As a result, many visitors are inspired to include the native species in their own gardens. Perhaps they become interested in native species be- cause of the great variety available for their gardens, or perhaps because of some deeper kind of interest in or connection with North American wildlings. Native Species in the Home Garden People are awakening to the potential for using native plants in the home garden. While the style of Garden in the Woods is naturalis- tic, native species can be used in any garden situation or landscape style, from naturalistic to very formal. In the garden, all plants have their strong and weak points regardless of Native Plants 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 by choosing the right plant for the right place and by paying close atten- tion to their soil, pH, moisture, and light re- quirements. The best rule of thumb is to plant wild- flowers in sites where conditions closely match those of their natural habitats. Wood- land species are probably the best known natives in cultivation. Trilliums, hepaticas, wild ginger, bloodroot, and maidenhair fern all grow together in rich wood'lands in the wild and also make a great combination, both culturally and aesthetically, for a shady gar- den site. Although not as well known as the woodland species, there are many sun-loving species from which to choose for sunny bor- ders and meadow gardens. All native species, to reach their full poten- tial under cultivation, must be provided the same care and attention as any other garden plants. As long as you are gardening with native plants and not just naturalizing or managing plants in a natural setting, all the Lilium superbum, the Turk’s lily, a strong-growing native lily that fares best in full sun to light shade. Photographs by John A. Lynch. familiar tasks of fertilizing, mulching, prun- ing, watering, and weeding are necessary for success. Propagating Native Plants Closely associated with the cultivation of native species are the mysteries and intrigues of propagation. Home gardeners can partici- pate in this activity without a large invest- ment of materials and equipment. Propaga- tion by seed, cuttings, and division are the main methods used at the Garden in the Woods. Many natives are easily propagated by one or more of these methods, either outdoors during the growing season or on a windowsill in the winter. For some species, propagation by seed is the easiest method, while for oth- ers, such as forms of certain species (albinos, doubles, compact varieties, etc.), vegetative 18 Native Plants Aster novae-angliae, the New England aster. A spectacu- lar fall-blooming species with color forms ranging from pink to deep purple, it does best in sunny spots. propagation by cutting or division is a must because they usually do not come true from seed. While much work remains to be done to unravel mysteries, propagation techniques for many wild plants are well documented. Excellent resources are available to guide the home gardener in these techniques. Propaga- tion is not only a fascinating and rewarding activity, but one that can provide a much wider variety of material than is readily avail- able in the nursery trade. Acquiring Native Plants As the popularity of wildflowers has in- creased, so has the demand placed on the nursery industry to provide them. Since wild- collection is still the way in which many nurseries obtain their stock, by buying these plants for our own gardens, we may be con- 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- stock, Vermont: Countryman Press, 1984. Oliver E. Allen. Wildf lower Gardening. Time-Life Ency- clopedia of Gardening. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1977 Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Gardening with Wild Flowers. Handbook No. 38. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1979. Hal Bruce. How To Grow Wildflowers and Wild Shrubs and Trees in Your Own Garden. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. John Mickel and Evelyn Fiore. The Home Gardener's Book of Perns. San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1984. William E. Brumback and David R. Longland. Garden in the Woods Cultivation Guide. Framingham, Mas- sachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society, 1986. 61 pages. Available from the New England Wild Flower So- ciety (NEWFS), Hemenway Road, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701, for $6.45, postpaid. Ortho Books. Landscaping with Wildflowers and Native Plants. San Francisco: Chevron Chemical Com- pany, 1984. Edwin F. Steffek. The New Wildflowers and How To Grow Them. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1983. arnoidu New England Horticultural and Botanical Calendar (Late Spring — Summer 1987) Announcement for the New England Horticultural Calendar Tb: From: Date: Calendar Editor Arnoldia The Arnold Arboretum The Arborway Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Please Type, or Pnnt Legibly Please list the following event in the "New England Horticultural Calendar": Name, Title, or Brief Description of Event Type of Event: □ Exhibit, □ Conference, □Lecture, □ Workshop, □ Course, DTour, □ Other: Time, Day, and Date of Event Location of Event, Including Street Address □ Preregistration or Reservations Required □ No Charge □ Fee !□ Admission, □ Registration, □ TUiuon, □ Other: I Telephone Number (Including Area Code) and Mailing Address (Including Postal Code) for Inquiries from the Public □ Supplementary Information is Attached. Source of Information The person who submits this announcement form should supply all of the information requested below. Forms lacking any of the information requested cannot be considered. Except for the name of the sponsoring organization, the information is intended solely for the use and convenience of the Calendar Editor and will not be published. Sponsoring Organization Name of Person Submitting Information (Typed, or Printed Legibly) Address and Telephone Number of Person Submitting Information Signature Please note that the "New England Horticultural Calendar" is published solely for the benefit of Amoldia' s readers, and that announcements will be pnnted at the discretion of the magazine's editors. Events will be listed whenever possible, on a space-available basis, but no guarantee can be given that an event will be listed. The editors of Amoldia will take every reasonable precaution to ensure the accuracy of all published announcements. Clip and mail the completed form to the Calendar Editor at the above address. A photocopy will be accepted. Deadlines are November 20, February 20, April 20, and July 20 for the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall issues, respectively. The Arnoldia Horticultural and Botanical Calendar Please be sure to mention Arnoldia whenever you attend an event that was listed in the New England Horticultural and Botanical Calendar. Through June. 15 "Flowering Trees and Shrubs: The Botanical Paintings of Esther Heins." Arnold Arboretum. Selected paintings of plants in the Arboretum, from the new (May 1987) book of the same title. Visitor Center, Arnold Arboretum, Arbor- way, Jamaica Plain, MA. Information: (617)524-1718. Through August 7 Hydroponics Exhibit. Champion International Corpora- tion. Demonstration of experimental techniques for the commercial cultivation of tomatoes, lettuce, squash, and other familiar crops in water, Styrofoam™ and plastic in- stead of soil. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays, The Champion Greenhouse, One Champion Plaza, Atlantic Street at Tresser Boulevard, Stamford, CT 06921. Free. Information: (203)358-6688. Through October 27 Walks through the Garden in the Woods. New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS). Informal walks, led by experi- enced guides, through the largest (45 acres) landscaped col- lection of wildflowers in the Northeast. Tuesdays, 10 a.m., Garden in the Woods, Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA. Free with admission to the Garden. Information: NEWFS, Hemenway Road, Framingham 01701; (617)877-7630, 237-4924. June 9, 10 Dedication and Public Opening. Enid A. Haupt Garden. Brief afternoon dedication ceremony (June 9, at a time to be announced) and public opening (June 10, at 7 a.m.) of 4.2- acre garden on the National Mall, Washington, DC. Open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily through September 30, 7 a.m.-5:45 p.m., October 1-May 31. Free. Information: Smithsonian Institution, Washington 20560; (202)357-2627. June 13 Plant and Book Sale. New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS). 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Garden in the Woods, Hemen- way Road, Framingham, MA 01701. Information: NEWFS, (617)877-7630. Rose Garden Day. Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS) and New England Rose Society. Tour of private rose gardens. Registration charge. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Information: Charlotte Albers, MHS, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston 02115; (617)536-9280. Tour of Woodstock Gardens. Woodstock Garden Club. Self- guided tour of over twenty gardens of great variety, featur- ing Nineteenth Century parterre and Italianate styles. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Woodstock, CT. Fee. ( Rain date: June 14.) Information: Roseland Cottage, Post Office Box 1846, Woodstock 06281, (203)928-4074. Herb Fair. Herb products for sale. Berkshire Garden Center (BGC). 10 a.m.-4 p.m., BGC, Routes 102 and 183, Stock- bridge, MA. Admission fee. Lunch available. Information: BGC, Post Office Box 826, Stockbridge 01262, (413)298- 3926. June 17-20 Annual Meeting. American Association of Botanical Gar- dens and Arboreta. Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago, IL. Fee. Preregistration required. Information: Kris Jarantoski, Chicago Botanic Garden, Post Office Box 400, Glencoe, IL 66022-0400, (312)835-5440. June 18 Spring Wildflower Walk. Massachusetts Horticultural Soci- ety (MHS). Tour of the wildflowers and naturalized exotics growing in Franklin Park's woodlands, meadows, and streams, led by Jim Gorman. 9-7:30 p.m. Registration fee. Information: Charlotte Albers, MHS, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston 02115; (617)536-9280. June 20 New England Gardening Day. Strawbery Banke Museum. Plant sales, workshops, demonstrations. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Strawbery Banke Museum, Marcy Street, near Prescott Park, Exit 7 off 1-95, Portsmouth, NH. Admission charge. Information: (603)433-1100. July 9-10 "Rooftop Garden Design." Graduate School of Design, Harvard University (GSD). Course designed primarily for architects, interior designers, contractors, and developers, instructed by Theodore Osmundson of San Francisco. Field trips will be made to several successful Boston-area rooftop gardens. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration fee. Information: GSD, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617)495-9340. July 10-12 Antiques Show to benefit Berkshire Garden Center. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Plain School, Main Street, Stockbridge, MA. Information: (413)298-3926. Meetings Irregular AMERICAN BEGONIA SOCIETY (BUXTON BRANCH) Suburban Experiment Station, 241 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA. Contact: Wanda Macnair (617)876-1366. AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER) Approximately monthly, changing locations. Contact: Peggy (617)799-5897. AMERICAN GLOXINIA AND GESNERIAD SOCIETY (NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER) Approximately monthly, 1 p.m., Suburban Experiment Station, 241 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA. Contact: H. Friedberg (617)891-9164. AMERICAN HEMEROC ALLIS SOCIETY (NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER) Second Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.. Suburban Experiment Station, 241 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA. Location subject to change. Contact: Susan Mahler (617)878-8039. AMERICAN ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY (NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER) Saturday or Sunday, February-October (approximately monthly, at changing locations). Contact: Helga Andrews (617)443-8994. IRIS SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS September, November, January, and March. Contact: Mrs. John H. Burton, 188 Sagamore Street, South Hamilton 01982; (617)468-3646. NEW ENGLAND HOSTA SOCIETY, INC. Meetings irregular, usually Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at changing locations. Contact: Mabel-Maria Herweg, 11 Puritan Lane, Dedham, MA 02026; (617)326-1939. Ongoing Activities Arnold Arboretum. The Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795. A 265- acre public park of hardy trees, shrubs, and vines from all over the world, many of them from China and Japan. Open daily, sunrise-sunset. Admission free. Visitor Center at Main Entrance open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Exhibits, slide show, public information, rest rooms. Arboretum Shop sells books, postcards, film, gift items, etc. Group van or guided walking tours avail- able by appointment. Driving permits issued to elderly or handicapped, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Information: (617)524-1718; recorded infor- mation on lectures, events: 524-1717. Arnold Arboretum. Volunteers always needed to work in every area, with staff or on independent projects, on the Living Collections; in the library, gift shop, or herbarium,- guiding tours,- etc. Volunteers receive training and other benefits. Contact: Volunteer Coordinator, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795; (617)524-1718. Horticultural and Botanical Calendar. Published in each issue of Amoldia, the quarterly magazine of the Arnold Arboretum. It serves organizations in the New England area, though events taking place elsewhere are often listed. A standard form for submitting announcements accompanies each issue of the Calendar. Amoldia invites your participation. Copy deadlines are December 15, March 15, June 15, and September 15 for the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall issues, respectively. Mailing address: Calendar, Amoldia, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-2795; information: (617)524-1718. Certificate in Gardening Arts. Arnold Arboretum. Botany and horticulture courses on theories and practices of good gardening (propagation, main- tenance, design, plant selection, plant systematics, etc.). Work towards certifi- cate may commence at any time during the year (some required courses may be entered only in spring). No time limit for fulfilling requirements, but final project (required) will usually be prepared within one year of completion of coursework. Details and catalog: (617)524-1718. Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses, Wellesley College, Route 135, Wellesley, MA 02181. Exhibits of desert and tropical plants, ferns, orchids. Seasonal dis- plays. Open daily, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Guided tours available by appointment Admission free. Information: (617)235-0320, extension 3094. Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site ("Fairsted"), Boston offices of F. L. Olmsted and his two sons, surrounded by landscaped grounds. Open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Admission free. Group tours by appointment. Information: U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 99 Warren Street, Brookline, MA 02146; (617)566- 1689. Ashumet Holly Reservation and Wildlife Sanctuary of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. 286 Ashumet Road, East Falmouth, MA 02536. Two trails meander amid hollies and past an Oriental lotus pond. Open Tuesday- Sunday, dawn-dusk. Admission charge. Information: (617)563-6390. New Alchemy Institute. 237 Hatchville Road, East Falmouth, MA 02536. Research institution founded to develop ecologically sound food systems through organic gardening, integrated pest management, solar ponds, solar greenhouse design and management, tree crops, energy conservation. Film, guided tours. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday; noon^l p.m., Saturday, Sunday. Guided tours, Saturday, 1 p.m. Admission charge. Information: (617)563-2655. Strawbery Banke Museum. Marcy Street (near Prescott Park, Exit 7 of Route I- 95), Portsmouth, NH 03801. First urban settlement in the state. Thirty-seven houses dating from 1695-1 950s, typical Eighteenth Century Colonial garden, period herb gardens, Victorian garden. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, May 1- October 31. Admission charge. Guided tours available. Information: (603)433- 1100. Fuller Gardens. Willow Avenue, North Hampton, NH 03862. Tum-of-the century estate featuring extensive plantings of roses accentuated by statuary and fountains, a Japanese garden, wildflower walk, and hedge-enclosed English perennial borders. Conservatory contains a collection of tropical plants. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, mid-May-October. Admission charge. Information: (603)964-5414. Blithewold Gardens and Arboretum. Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809. Thirty- three acres of landscape gardens featuring exotic woody plants, flower gardens; mansion with turn-of-the-century furnishings and decorated with floral arrangements overlooks Narragansett Bay. Open 10 a.m.^f p.m., Tuesday-^S unday, April-October. Admission charge. Information: (401)253- 2707. Champion Greenhouse. One Champion Plaza, Stamford, CT 06921. Ongoing program of horticultural shows, exhibits, and displays. Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Group tours by appointment. Information: (203)358- 6688. Old Westbury Gardens. Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury, Long Island, NY 11568. Mansion, eight formal gardens in bloom throughout the season. Allees, lakes, ponds, fields, woods. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday and holidays, late April-October. Admission charge. Information: (516)333- 0048. Enid A. Haupt Garden, National Mall, Washington, DC. Open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, June 10-September 30, 7 a.m.-5:45 p.m., October 1-May 31. Informa- tion: Smithsonian Institution, Washington 20560; (202)357-2627. Native Plants 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 over 200 popular wildflowers for Zones 4, 5 , and 6; 58 nurseries that sell wildflower seeds or propa- gated plants for Zones 4, 5, and 6; and other nurseries throughout the country that propagate native plants. (The 1987 edition will be available from the NEWFS in 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 (39c), 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 the law and, at the same time unknowingly contribute to the demise of wild plant popu- lations, since collection from the wild is sel- dom adequately licensed or controlled. By following a few simple rules, however, you can avoid the legal and ethical pitfalls of buying (and collecting) native plants for use in a garden, for scientific research, or for horti- cultural display. In the United States, many laws protect species of plants or regulate activities that in- volve them. The laws range from strict prohi- bitions of the collection and sale of protected species to local regulations aimed at main- taining scenic beauty. It is important to know what these laws are. Plant-Protection Laws in the United States In 1973, the United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, which for the first time granted Federal protection to plants under the terms of a major law. Congress directed the Smithsonian Institution to draw up a list of the endangered and threatened plants of the United States. The Smithsonian's list, which was published in book form (Ayensu and DeFilipps, 1978), included about three thousand plant taxa of the continental United States and Hawaii. This number, which represents one out of ev- ery ten native plant taxa, astounded the scien- tific community. More than one hundred of the taxa are now protected by the Act, and others currently are proposed for protection. In practical terms this means that the interstate trade or collec- tion of those taxa is prohibited on lands owned by the United States Government, unless one has a permit issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or another ap- propriate agency, such as the Bureau of Land Management, the Park Service, or the Forest Service. Some of the endangered and threatened species on the Federal list are available through legitimate sources. Only propagated plants may be sold legally, and their sale must be licensed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Tennessee purple coneflower [Echinacea tennesseensis ) is an example of a species grown from seed. (According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, only two nurseries were licensed to sell the species in 1 985. ) Species of Pediocactus, a genus of endangered diminu- tive cacti, are sometimes propagated by seeds, cuttings, or tissue culture. Chapman's rhodo- dendron ( Rhododendron chapmanii ), endan- gered in the wild, is available as plants raised from seeds or cuttings. Other Federal laws protecting plants in- clude more-general ones, such as those that prohibit commercial collecting on Park Serv- ice lands, and the requirements that permits be obtained for collecting on most other Fed- eral lands. Native Plants 21 State Laws In addition to the Federal laws, many states have laws conserving plant species. About half of the fifty states have passed endangered species laws that help to conserve plants (McMahan, 1980; McMahan, 1984), for ex- ample. There are as many types of provisions as there are states,- they provide various de- grees of protection, from outright prohibi- tions against collection and sale to the crea- tion of licensing systems. Some states do not regulate collecting at all, but instead, focus on preserving the habitats of rare plants. Despite the efforts of some states to protect their rare plants, it remains a sad fact that most of the plants at risk of extinction in the United States are not yet protected by either Federal or state laws (see, for example, Manheim and Bean, 1984). Conservation- conscious horticulturists and botanists will learn which native plants are rare and will proceed with extreme caution to purchase only propagated plants. Publications listing plants at risk of extinction can be obtained from the United States Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice ( e.g ., United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 1980, 1981) and from many state- government offices. The Threats of Trade in Wild Species Trade in wild plants can affect more-common species as well, among them the Venus's-fly- trap [Dionxa muscipula ), which is native to the Green Swamp of North Carolina and South Carolina. Although it has a restricted habitat, the Venus's-flytrap is locally abun- dant where conditions are favorable (Sutter, 1985). Its removal from the wild is monitored by the North Carolina Department of Agri- culture, but several nurseries and botanical gardens propagate Venus's-flytrap from seeds or by plant divisions. Propagated specimens provide the buyer with a choice, making it unnecessary to remove Venus's-flytraps from wild populations. Another example, the yellow lady's-slip- per (Cypripedium calceolus), is commonly offered through mail-order garden catalogs in The Venus's flytrap (TDionaea muscipulaj being propagated in flats at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Photograph by the author. 22 Native Plants the United States. Unless the company states that they are propagated, the plants are al- most certainly of wild origin. One catalog refers to its stock as "specially selected," perhaps in an effort to mislead the customer about the source of the plants. The Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, the botanical garden of the New England Wild Flower Society, is propagating the yellow lady's-slipper on a limited basis, as are a few others. These sources offer propagated plants that are more likely to survive transplanting to the garden than are most wild-collected plants. At least the yellow lady's-slipper and some other wildflowers can sometimes survive transplanting from the wild. Others, such as many other species of Cypripedium, are not so lucky. They usually die after one or more years, leaving the gardener or horticulturist wondering what he or she did wrong. For those interested in learning sources of nurs- ery-propagated native plants, the New Eng- land Wild Flower Society's small but infor- Chapman's rhododendron ("Rhododendron chapmaniij, a popular horticultural species endangered in its wild habitat in Florida. Photographed by E. La Verne Smith of the Office of Endangered Species, United States Fish and Wildlife Service. mative booklet, Nursery Source List: Wild- flowers and Native Plants (New England Wild Flower Society, 1984), is very useful. It is important to realize that, with few exceptions, wild collection is not adequately controlled or licensed by either state or Fed- eral agencies. One of a handful of states li- censing the removal of wild plants is Arizona. Wildlife officials dubbed "cactus cops" give permits and tags for collecting wild saguaro [Cereus giganteus) and other large cacti used in outdoor landscaping. Collecting certain rare species is strictly prohibited unless it is done by the landowner. In this way, the state monitors the removal of wild cacti and can better assess the effect of collecting on the wild population. Whenever possible, state officials encourage collectors to remove plants from lands about to be developed rather than from wild lands. The Legal Requirements Knowing that what you purchase is both legal and not detrimental to wild populations can The yellow lady's slipper ('Cypripedium calceolusj. This species sometimes survives transplantation but is also being offered on a small scale as propagated specimens. Photographed by William Krebs. Native Plants 23 be difficult. It is perhaps safest to purchase only material that you know is of propagated origin. Here are a few simple rules to follow: □ Learn about the laws that protect native plants. Write to a conservation department in a state to which the plants are native to find out about local laws. You are presumed to know what the laws are, in any case. □ Follow all requirements of the state or Federal government, such as obtaining per- mits if you must use wild plants. Be aware that even the sale of propagated plants of some species is regulated so as to increase protection of the wild resource. Other Considerations In addition to being aware of the legal require- ments and pitfalls, you should: □ Find out whether the native plants you buy are wild or propagated. The best way to do so is to ask the supplier. □ Find out which species are rare, either in the state or nationally, and be particularly careful when you buy these species to deter - Echinacea tennesseensis, the Tennessee purple cone- flower.This species is available legally from nurseries licensed by the United States Pish and Wildlife Service. mine that they originated as propagated plants. □ Obtain information about the site from which the plants came if, for scientific rea- sons, you must purchase plants collected in the wild. The information may be valuable some day. □ Do not, in general, buy wild plants un- less their collection and sale are licensed and the wild population is monitored by a govern- ment agency. □ Be particularly careful when you buy from mail-order catalogs. Many rare and wild- collected specimens of cacti and insectivo- rous plants are sold in this way, perhaps ille- gally. □ Be aware that most "wildflowers" of- fered for sale in the United States through mail-order catalogs were collected from the wild. These include bloodroot, ferns, and tril- liums. □ Never buy lady's-slipper orchids ( Cyp - iipedium spp.) unless you know that they were artificially propagated. A pincushion cactus, Pediocactus peeblesianus var. pee- blesianus. Endangered pincushion cacti are popular among cactus collectors. Photograph by the Desert Botanical Garden. 24 Native Plants A stand of saguaios fCereus giganteusj in the Saguaio National Monument, near Tucson, Arizona. Saguaios often are used in outdoor landscaping. 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. United 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 Wildlife and Plants, July 20, 1984. Washington, D. C.: Department of the Interior [18th and C 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. Native Plants 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 1 15 c/o Department of Botany North port 35476 University of Hawaii Honolulu 96822 Alaska Native Plant Society Post Office Box 141613 Idaho Native Plant Society Anchorage 99514 Post Office Box 9451 Boise 83707 Arizona Native Plant Society Post Office Box 41206 Illinois Native Plant Society Tucson 85717 Department of Botany Southern Illinois University Arkansas Native Plant Society Attention: Don Peach Carbondale 62901 Route 1, Box 282 Kansas Wildflower Society Mena 71953 c/o Mulvane Art Center Washburn University California Native Plant Society 909 Twelfth Street #116 Topeka 66621 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 Native Plants Minnesota Native Plant Society 220 Biological Sciences Center University of Minnesota Saint Paul 55108 Mississippi Native Plant Society Attention: Travis Salley 202 North Andrews Avenue Cleveland 38732 Missouri Native Plant Society Post Office Box 6612 Jefferson City 65102-6612 Nevada Native Plant Society Post Office Box 8965 Reno 89507 New Jersey Native Plant Society Frelinghuysen Arboretum Post Office Box 1295R Morristown 07960 Native Plant Society of New Mexico Post Office Box 5917 Santa Fe 87502 North Carolina Wild Flower Preservation Society c/o North Carolina Botanical Garden 457- A Totten Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill 27514 Ohio Native Plant Society Attention: Ann Malmquist 6 Louise Drive Chagrin Falls 44022 Oklahoma Native Plant Society Attention: Dr. John Taylor Route 1, Box 157 Durant 74701 Oregon Native Plant Society 393 Ful Vue Drive Eugene 97405 Pennsylvania Native Plant Society 1806 Commonwealth Building 316 Fourth Avenue Pittsburgh 15222 Tennessee Native Plant Society Department of Botany University of Tennessee Knoxville 37916 Native Plant Society of Texas Post Office Box 23836 Denton 76204 Utah Native Plant Society 1050 East Oakridge Circle Sandy 84070 Virginia Wildflower Preservation Society Post Office Box 844 Annandale 22003 Washington Native Plant Society Attention: Dr. Arthur R. Kruckenberg Department of Botany University of Washington Seattle 98195 West Virginia Native Plant Society c/o Herbarium Brooks Hall West Virginia University Morgantown 26506 Wyoming Native Plant Society Post Office Box 1471 Cheyenne 82001 — 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 about fifteen genera, most of them tropi- cal but of wide distribution. Some of the tropical members of the family have long been under cultivation, especially in east- ern Asia and the Pacific Islands. Taro ( Colocasia esculenta ) and several species of Xanthosoma (yautia), for example, are grown for their edible tubers as staple sources of starch. Other tropical species are handsome foliage plants used in the temperate zones for summer bedding ( Ca - ladium ) or as houseplants ( Aglaonema , Dieffenbachia, Monster a, Philodendron). Others are used by florists as cut flowers (. Anthurium , Calla). Some members of the family are hardy, notably Arisxma, Ar is arum, Arum, Lysi- chiton, and Symplocarpus. The Araceae might seem a poor prospect for garden- worthy plants to those familiar only with the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus fcetid- us) of New England's swamps. I have en- joyed cultivating representatives of sever- al genera, some for their flowers, some for their foliage. Aroids have a modest following, appear- ing in an occasional article, mentioned briefly in gardening books. Visitors to my garden have admired them,- they have sev- eral points of appeal. Many of the aroids I discuss in this article are rare in cultiva- tion, especially in the United States. They are, therefore, unusual and have the appeal of novelty. Aroids contain a bitter substance, calci- um oxalate, and are little bothered by pests. Slugs, mice, rabbits, and deer find them decidedly unpalatable. When aroids are used for food, the calcium oxalate first must be destroyed by heat. Garden- ers should be careful to wash their hands after handling berries or a bruised tuber. Once, after cleaning Arissema seeds, I inadvertently touched my mouth. The resulting unpleasant tingling and numb- ness took several hours to wear off. My garden in Wilton, Connecticut, is shaded by mature white oaks ( Quercus alba). Understory trees are dogwood ( Cornus florida) and black birch ( Betula lenta). The Araceae I raise are quite hardy in Wilton, which is situated in Ar- nold Arboretum Hardiness Zone 6 (-5 Fahrenheit to 5 Fahrenheit). In fact, the temperature once dipped to -8 Fahren- heit, and there were no losses. The soil in the garden is a good loam, which I keep mulched with leaves for a constant supply of humus,- as in most of Connecticut, the pH is rather low (acid). Other plants I use in the garden include such American wild- flowers as Trillium, Sanguinaria canaden- se (bloodroot), Hexastylis spp. (evergreen 28 Aroids gingers from the southeastern states), Phlox stolonifera, Phlox divaiicata, and many kinds of ferns. Other shade-tolerant plants, such as hostas, epimediums, and primroses, also do well under these condi- tions. Since I have to obtain most of the a- roids from abroad, I prefer to receive them in the autumn. They are completely dormant at this time, and the tubers travel well and arrive in excellent condition. If they are shipped in the spring, there is the risk that they will break dormancy while in transit. New growth can be dam- aged either by the confines of the ship- ping container, or by rot. As soon as the tubers are received they are planted directly in the garden. The area is spad- ed over, and extra compost is added if necessary. I fertilize with muriate of potash and superphosphate. Soils in the The familiar skunk cabbage ('Symplocarpus foetidusj of New England's swamps. This and all other photographs accompanying this article were taken by the author. Northeast are low in phosphorus, and pot- ash is especially useful for tuberous plants. It is not safe to use bonemeal in my garden because it attracts skunks, which dig up the tubers looking for bones. They do not eat the tubers, but it is a nui- sance to replant them. Nitrogen is ap- plied in the spring, in the form of dried blood, cottonseed meal, or leather tank- age. Fertilization after the first year is usu- ally not required. The constant mulch of leaves seems to keep the plants growing in good condition. An alternative way of obtaining these plants is to raise them from seed. I soak dried berries in a little tepid water for an hour or so, until the coat softens. Then, I rub the seeds gently between paper tow- els and separate the seed. Each berry has one to four seeds. I sow the seeds in a sterile mix of half potting soil and half Lysichiton amencanum in flower in the wild, Washing- ton, D.C. Avoids 29 Jiffy-mix® or Pro-mix®, with enough sharp sand for good drainage. (I sow them thin- ly enough that I won't have to prick them out for a year.) I cover the the seeds well, water them, and wait. Fresh seeds will ger- minate promptly under growth lights. Older seeds will germinate more slowly, and outdoor conditions slow the germina- tion process somewhat. My biggest problem has been to keep the plants through their dormant stages. While the garden site may be quite damp, pot-grown plants rot with the great- est of ease. At the same time, small tu- bers dry out quickly. It is difficult to find the correct balance. Second-year plants can go into a prepared site in the garden and should begin flowering in their third or fourth year. I have used this method with several species of Aiisaema and with Arum italicum. Arisaema seeds do not need a period of stratification but will ger- minate during the autumn they ripen if they are sown indoors. Sown outdoors in the autumn they will, of course, germi- nate the following spring. The production of seeds is generous, one spadix of Aii- saema sikokianum having from one to four seeds in a berry, for a total of five hundred eighty-seven seeds. Plants of Ari- saema sikokianum often begin to flower in their third year. Once established, the plants are most agreeable. I have dug one up in full bloom, potted it for a rock- garden show, and replanted it in the gar- den without any difficulty or damage to the plant. The flowering of Aiissema follows an unusual pattern. Immature corms, from either seeds or offsets, are asexual and have a single foliage leaf. As corms in- crease in size after their first year, they reach sexual maturity, producing two leaves and one scape. Smaller (lighter) corms are male, heavier corms are invari- ably female, the sexual state having pro- gressed from an asexual to a male and finally to a female state, remaining in the last state. Many plants — Ilex and Myrica, for example — have single-sexed plants that are either male or female and that remain so for the life of the individual plant, a condition called "dioecious." The transitional nature of the sexual state of Aiisaema is referred to as "paradioe- cious." Arisaema In North America there are two species of Aiisaema, Arisaema tiiphyllum, which has four subspecies, and Arisaema dra- contium of the southeastern states. Arisaema triphyllum (Linnaeus) Torrey is found from the Gaspe Peninsula, southern Quebec and Ontario, Wisconsin and Minnesota south to eastern Texas and southern Florida, growing in moist, shady woodlands. There are four sub- specific populations, with widespread hy- brid swarms. Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum is the most widespread. Its height varies with growing conditions. I have seen specimens that were dwarf in the wild reach two feet in height in the garden with richer soil and ample water. Typically, it has one or two leaves, each bearing three leaflets, which are glaucous beneath. The spathe may vary in color from green to green-and-purple striped, to chocolate purple. The name 'Zebrinum' is often ap- plied to cultivars whose spathes are purple to bronze and have whitish longitu- dinal stripes inside. An interesting variant has recently been discovered by Peggy French in Wilton, Connecticut. It has pro- nouncedly white-veined leaves and comes true from seed. The second subspecies, which I have seen in several gardens, is Arisaema tri- phyllum ssp. stewardsonii. This is a northern variant in which the spathe is 30 Aroids green and strongly fluted with white ridges on the outside. It tends to appear later in the spring than the other sub- species and grows consistently in moist sites. Its leaves are never glaucous. The third subspecies is Arissema triphyllum ssp. pusillum, which grows in the same habitat as Arissema triphyllum ssp. stewardsonii, although farther south and at lower elevations. Its leaves, too, are never glaucous. There are no ridges on the spathe, and the coloring is nearly always completely green or completely purple, occasionally with thin, green stripes. The fourth subspecies, Arissema tri- phyllum var. quinatum, has a very re- stricted range in the deep South, growing in moist, shaded locations. It is smaller than the other subspecies, and its leaves are usually five-parted and glaucous beneath, although there may be fewer leaflets, and the the leaflets may not be glaucous. The spathe is green and bears no markings. Arissema dracontium, the green- dragon, has a solitary leaf with seven to nineteen segments. The spathe is more tightly furled than in the previous species and is green, without stripes. The long, slender spadix protrudes and hangs down from this. Plants can reach an overall height of three feet (0.9 m). In western China, Japan, and the Hima- layas, there are at least one hundred spe- cies of Arissema, forty-two in Japan alone. Some of them are among the most beautiful, exotic, interesting, and easily cultivated plants that could be grown in the garden. Arissema candidissimum W. W. Smith is a Chinese species discovered and col- lected by George Forrest in Yunnan in 1914. It is found in pine forests, indi- cating a preference for acid soil. Under cultivation, it does not need a very moist site. The leaf is solitary, three-parted, and a glossy mid-green; it appears after flowering, which occurs early in June. The spathe is very beautifully marked with pink and white stripes. Mature tubers make numerous offsets, which form a good-sized clump in a few years. Arissema sikokianum Franchet and Sa- vatier comes from Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan. Mature plants have two three- to five-parted leaves that often have attractive silver markings. Its Japanese name, yuki-mochi-so, means "snow rice- cake plant," in reference to the pure- white, clublike spadix. The spathe is a deep chocolate brown on the outside, green shading to white inside. It flowers in late April and early May. This is an extraordinarily beautiful plant. In the garden, I combine it with the Japanese Primula sieboldii, especially the deep-pink forms that contrast so nice- ly with the dark spathe of the Arissema. One colony is growing with the Japanese painted fern, Athyrium goeringianum 'Pic- turn', whose silver fronds complement the markings on the Arissema leaf. Seeds are freely produced and germinate readily. Plants that produce seeds are more resis- tant to cold and go dormant later than non-seed-bearing plants. The seeds are ripe before the berries turn red, which is fortunate because the growing season in Wilton is too short for the berries to red- den. Arisxma thunbergii var. urashima (Hara) Ohashi and J. Murata is found in the wild on the islands of Hokkaido, Hon- shu, and Shikoku. The leaf is solitary, with eleven to fifteen pedately arranged leaf- lets of a dark, glossy green. It appears with the flowers. The Japanese name of the plant, urashima-so, refers to the odd — even amusing — flowers and is based on a folk tale. Taro Urashima was a young fisherman, and it is for him that Aioids 31 the plant is named. The dark bronze-pur pie spathe of Aiisxma thunbergii var. urashima arches strongly over the spa- dix, narrowing abruptly to a tail-like tip. The spadix has a threadlike appendage as much as twenty inches (50 cm) long that trails on the ground like a fishing line. It flowers in mid-May in my garden. Seeds germinate freely. The tubers may make offsets. A colony of this variety is at- tractive, not only for the unusual flower but for the attractive leaf. Arisxma japonicum Blume and Aii- ssema serratum Thunberg probably are one and the same species. A common and very polymorphic species, minor vari- ants in color and size have been accorded specific rank in the past. Dr. Arisaema sikokianum in the author’s garden. This beautiful Japanese species is native to the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Creech of the United States Department of Agriculture introduced it into the United States. The pseudostem may be up to two feet (0.6 m) tall and pale green or pale green with "snakelike" purple mot- tling. Plants with mottling are more attractive in the garden than those without it. It flowers in late April to early May. One of my correspondents, with true Ori- ental courtesy, has written, "I sent yesterday a parcel with the plants. I think they are of less value in Japan but good plant for shady garden." Aiisxma ringens (Thunberg) Schott is noted in English literature as coming into growth as early as February or March. The colder winters in Connecticut must keep it dormant over a longer period, as I Arisaema thunbergii in the author's garden. Found wild on the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shiko- ku, it flowers in mid-May in the author's garden. 32 Aroids have not seen any growth as early as that. Its leaves are large, glossy green, and thick. Mature plants have two leaves, both of which have three leaflets. Each leaflet ends in a little, threadlike tail. The spathe of Aiisxma ringens differs from those of other members of the genus, hav- ing an inflated, curving upper part resem- bling a very large snail shell. The main part of the spathe is green in forma prxcox, dark purple in forma sieboldii. The spathe's margins are folded over like an auricle and are chocolate brown. The leaves are unaffected by a light frost but are damaged when temperatures drop below 28 Fahrenheit. The tubers of Ari- sxma ringens have grown larger than those of any other species of Aiisxma I have raised, reaching three and one half inches (8.5 cm) in diameter. Offsets are formed to a moderate extent. Arisdema fargesii, which is native to Mount Omei in China, is the least com- mon species I grow. Carla Teune, curat- or of the Leiden Botanic Garden, sent me some seeds she had collected in China in 1980, among which were seeds of an unidentified species of Aiisxma. (Since the spathe is an important character for identifying species of Aiisxma, a fruiting plant cannot be identified with a taxonomic key.) The seeds germinated well, but some plants succumbed to the winter. Each winter I lost a few more tubers from rot. Finally, in the fall of 1983, I felt that the two remaining tubers were large enough to be put into a propa- gating-holding bed. May 1984 came and went, as did June, but there was no sign of either remaining tubers. The winter had been too cold for them, I thought, and I hadn't planted them deep enough. Or I should have protected them from the many mice, voles, and chipmunks that infest my garden. I doubted that the latter was true, for all parts of an Aiisxma are laced with crystals of oxalic acid, which renders them unpalatable, and I had never had a problem with such animals before. I was ready to admit my guilt. Then, in mid-July, two large buds ap- peared. They grew swiftly and continued to grow, until the single leaf of each plant was bigger than my outspread hand. The spathe and spadix appeared as rapidly. The spathe reminded me a little owl, with the tip falling forward for the beak and an opening on each side resembling the eyes. It was a fine plant, but anonymous! Ohwi's Flora is for Japan, and this was a plant from mainland China. When in doubt, find an authority, I told myself. I took some photographs and sent them off to H. Lincoln Foster, the doyen of Amer- ican rock gardeners. He replied in early August: By studying my xerox of the pages of Flora Republicae Populous Sinicae con- cerning the arisaemas, even though the text is Chinese, from the rather good drawings I feel confident that your plant is from the Section Franchetiana. This has 6 species, including candidissimum. Your species is, I think A. fargesii. A name! An identity! Though one plant had male flowers and the other female, there has not been any setting of seed. The foliage is very tender, being killed by the first light frost. A r is a rum The genus Arisarum A. Targioni-Tozzetti contains three species, all of which are confined to the Mediterranean basin. One (Arisarum proboscideum ) is, however, hardy in my garden. Arisarum proboscideum (Linnaeus) Savi is often called the mousetail arum. Small- er (more dwarf) than most species of Ari- sxma, it has a creeping rhizome and sends up a mass of small leaves. The spathe has a threadlike tip that protrudes from the leaves and looks rather like a Aioids 33 Arisasma japonicum in the author’s garden, Dr. John Creech of the United States Department of Agricul- ture introduced this species to the United States. Close-up of the flower of Arisasma fargesii in the author’s garden. An uncommon species, it hails from Mount Omei in China. This plant was grown from seed collected in China by Carla Teune of the Leiden Botanic Garden. mouse's tail. Culture is similar to that members of Arisxma, which is to say, woodland conditions of soil high in organic matter, moist but not soggy, and shaded. Arum The genus Arum Linnaeus 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 Arissema 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- curs soon afterward. In autumn, clusters of brilliant orange-red berries appear and 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 names, 'Pictum' and 'Marmoratum'. Be- cause of the autumn berries and winter foliage, this is a choice species for adding interest to the shady woodland 34 Aioids garden. The seeds ripen in autumn and germinate the following spring. Pinellia The genus Pinellia consists of perhaps half a dozen species native to China and Japan. The leaves appear with the flow- ers, which are monoecious. The leaves are simple or three- to seven-lobed. Pinellia ternata and Pinellia tripartita are the two species listed in Ohwi's Flora of Japan. Both are small plants four to eight inches (10 to 20 cm) tall. Their roots are tuberous,- additional small tubers are produced at ground level. In both species, the leaves are green and three- lobed. Owhi mentions Pinellia ternata as quite common in cultivated fields and roadsides. This, coupled with its habit of producing extra tubers at the soil surface might indicate a certain weediness. Spathes are green or purplish. Flowering occurs in summer. In November 1986 a friend sent me some tubers of Pinellia cordata from Ja- pan. While I have not yet found any refer- ences to this species ( Hortus Third, for example, does not list Pinellia at all), I assume that Pinellia cordata has simple rather than lobed leaves. According to my friend, people generally raise it in pots in Japan, apparently to have easy access to the fragrant plants. Nowhere have I found reference to the pleasant aroma that this aroid has. I smelled it for the first time in Lincoln and 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, there is more to a plant than its botanical description. The hardy aroids are not splashy, showy flowering plants like roses or chrys- anthemums. They have a different kind of flower, interesting to a different class of gardener. Perhaps other gardeners will be- come interested enough in these plants through this article to attempt to cultivate them, as well as other hardy species, and would be willing to share their information with me. Sources Alfred Evans. The Peat Carden and Its Plants. London: Dent, 1974. xi + 164 pages. Andrew Henderson. Dragon plants and mousetails. The Garden, Volume 106, Number 1, pages 13 to 17 (January 1981). Donald C. Huddleston. The North American species of Arisaema (Araceae) — "Jack-in-the- Pulpit." Aroideana, Volume 7, Number 1, pages 15 to 17 (1984). Will Ingwersen. Lords and ladies in the garden. Country Life, pages 1,654 to 1,655 (June 7, 1984). Tokujiro Maekawa. On the phenomena of sex transition in Arisaema japonica Bl. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University, Volume 13, Number 3, (June 1924). Brian Mathew. Dwarf Bulbs. London: Batsford, for the Royal Horticultural Society, 1973. 240 pages. . The Larger Bulbs. London: Batsford, in association with the Royal Horticultural Society, 1978. 156 pages. S. J. Mayo. A survey of cultivated species of Arisaema. Plantsman, Volume 3, Number 4, pages 193 to 209 (March 1982). Nicholas Nickou. A unique jack-in-the-pulpit. Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society, Volume 43, Number 3, page 138 (Summer 1985). Jisaburo Ohwi. Flora of Japan. Edited by Frederick G. Meyer and Egbert H. Walker. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1965 (reprinted 1984). ix + 1,067 pages. Judy Glattstein is a landscape consultant who spe- cializes in perennial -border design and the use of native plants in the landscape. An avid horticulturist, she chairs the Connecticut Chapter of the Ameri- can Rock Garden Society and teaches at the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Books 35 BOOKS Gathering the Desert, by Gary Paul Nabhan. Illustrated by Paul Mirocha. Tucson: Univer- sity of Arizona Press, 1985. ix + 209 pages. $19.95. DAVID C. MICHENER Gathering the Desert is delightful and sly, sly in a roguish way: Juan Espinosa . . . posed there for a mo- ment, dwarfed by the tall rock walls of Canyon de Guadalupe, the stone image of the Virgin looking down upon him. "Do you know why they call these fruits chichicoyotas ?" he asked in Spanish, a quizzical look on his face. "No, why?," I replied, sensing that his answer might be one of numerous folk variants. The name chichicoyota is used for several species of wild gourds belonging to the genus Cucuibita. . . . "Pues," he whispered, tipping his hat back, looking around to see if anyone else was within eye- or earshot. . . . Thus is the reader introduced to the book's humorously titled final chapter, "Good to the Bitter End: Wild Desert Gourds." Gathering the Desert is more than just an ethnobotanical study of twelve native Sono- ran Desert plants; it is a piece of literature punctuated with scientific notes, social com- mentary, and folklore. Nabhan repeatedly evokes an indelible sense of place, be it physi- cal or cultural. As only one example, he closes his essay-chapter "Sandfood and Sand Pa- pago: A Wild Kind of Mutualism" with subtle yet pellucid imagery: During a full moon, go south of the border, between the Colorado River delta and the Pina cate lava fields. Stop your vehicle, take 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, windswept bushes, and beetles. Look down at your toes. There it is, like another moon coming up through the sand: sandfood, reflecting back at you. Each of the book's twelve chapters consid- ers but one plant and its anthropological set- ting. Nabhan's style, as evidenced in such chapter headings as "Mescal Bancanora: Drinking away the Centuries" and "For the Birds: The Red-Hot Mother of Chiles," is to mix humor with observations on the cultural and natural history of the plant. In "Mescal Bancanora" one learns how Agave is fer- mented to produce an alcoholic beverage and then how overharvesting of the plants is en- dangering the nectar-feeding bats that polli- nate them. "For the Birds" introduces Jesuit missionaries, mining claims, coevolutionary interactions of birds and chiles, and resis- tance to phytopathic viruses into a mix as spicy as any chile. Perhaps best of all is "Tepary Beans and Human Beings at Agriculture's Arid Limits." Here, twin themes of discovery and irony organize a botanical query into "the value of being ephemeral." Can writing that is delightful, roguishly sly, and literary also be scientifically accurate? The basic answer is, "Yes," an answer butressed by the twenty-two-page "Biblio- graphic Essay" that links the text to the realm of research literature. I have reservations 36 Books 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. Michenei directs the Arnold Arboretum's Living Collections Verification Project. t SEP i 6 1987 •V.y> ' z'. ' /*y/r / , /. '. /.„/, ... fr/*t . />/> / , -r v" ■ -/'/// ft ; t , */f* , r //**/•» f/ ft /ff/f/t % / //// / i* i/f • tit f*t/rr r/f'ttf/fc ft-t it f/f //iff *• f/f** '/ 'f , /f t / f/*‘ /fi,f//t*V* / f/f f/ Iff//*/ r* ///r/fi nt/i yttf ///// ff///Yt/f ff /ttt//tf(1 ft f///u4 *(*';: : ACION EN 1781 Plan showing the original layout of the Madrid Botanical Garden. The King’s wish for "regularity" is amply fulfilled. From Anales de la Sociedad Espanola de Historia Natural (1875). terres at each preceding level. The central axis terminated on the fagade of the long con- servatories at the end of the site. Originally, Gomez Ortega had requested iron structures for the conservatories, but the King's wish for "beauty and regularity" on this prominent site dictated that stone masonry and pillars be used. The teaching of botany was ingeniously incorporated in the design by the designation of twenty-four beds in the parterres as "escue- las botanicas" ("schools of botany"), in which each of Linnaeus's twenty-four classes of plants, based on stamen numbers, could be represented with plant materials from each class. The idea of arranging plants in a botanic garden according to their position in the Plant Kingdom was echoed a century later in Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for the Arnold Arboretum. In 1 778, the Crown spent one million, two hundred thousand reales on the development of the new botanic garden. This figure illus- trates the lengths to which Spain was willing to go in pursuing Charles Ill's favorite hobby, botany. In 1781, the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid was opened with much fanfare and high hopes. Casimiro Gomez Ortega pre- sented His Highness with an herbarium and dedicated the main entrance gate — for use only during Royal occasions — with an in- scription in honor of Charles III. After the Garden moved to its present loca- tion in 1781, the number of plants coming in reached dizzying proportions. They came not only from the capitals of Europe but from Royal Expeditions to various parts of Central America and South America. In the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid there are countless lists of plants arriving from such people as Dr. 12 Madrid Botanical Garden La Puerto del Rey — the Main, or Royal, Gate of the Madrid Botanical Garden. It is dedicated to “Carolus III. P. P. Botanices Instaurator Civium Saluti et Oblectamento. Anno MDCCLXXX1." From Anales de la Sociedad Espanola de Historia Natural (1875). Fothergill of London, from botanic gardens in France and Italy, and from the colonies of Peru, Cuba, Mexico, and so on. Particularly noteworthy are requests for seeds from Chile and Peru by L'Heritier in Paris in 1 782 and by }ohn Gedds (Geddes? ) and John Hope (1766-1844) of the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.13 Most likely word was circulating through Europe that Spain had sent several botanical expeditions to the New Madrid Botanical Garden 13 at'* ~ «„ ... ( JUt ft 'it ,v SC ^ /t * .1 c 4 'T-t x rr - t>. , 1. v».r.x i -t-e/.'n. 4 1 .I,' A .* - l*\ . . JU. i V * ■ * — ■ c'. *v. • -■ C ► • o. . . (i - . » , •' .1 (r t( **.//«. * ' V i xd/c*.' J'o 4,.A >:u i" :* zXj - . . t! 1 'ic to. . c * .6 .. t- ji/ci za, Ja* ’ft-ir-iC'*- - p. C -- __ T,t,yt Lists of seeds available through the Garden's seed exchange (January 1793). Note Cosmus (i.e., CosmosJ sulphureus near the middle of the list on the right. From the Archives of the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid (Division I, Legajo 6, 4, 1) through the courtesy of its Director, Dr. Santiago Castroviejo. World, the Ruiz and Pavon Expedition to Peru and Chile in particular. Later, Gomez Ortega expanded the Garden's acquisition potential by developing a correspondence program whereby learned men would send seeds and plants to Madrid from outposts in the Spanish colonies and from the capitals of Europe. Under Gomez Ortega's administration (1771-1801), botanic gardens were estab- lished in the Spanish colonies, the most no- table being that in Mexico. He oversaw the development in Spain of other botanical gar- dens, in milder regions better suited for the acclimatization of New World plants (in Valencia, for example), and on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. An important measure of Spain's desire to exploit the vast botanical potential of its New World colonies by acquiring, cultivating, and scientifically studying plant materials, and to a great extent the reason for the extensive shipments of plants made during the remain- ing part of the century, was the publication in 1 779 of a treatise by Casimiro Gomez Ortega, Instruccion sobre el Modo Mas Seguro y Economico de Transportar Plantas Vivas por Mar y por Tierra a los Pafses Mas Distantes ( Instruction on the Safest and Most Economi- cal Method of Transporting Live Plants by Sea and by Land to the Most Distant Coun- tries).1* The Instruccion was illustrated with figures of the construction of glass-covered wooden boxes for the transport overseas of living plants, and included practical ex- 14 Madrid Botanical Garden Diagrams of glass-covered wooden boxes, or cases, used to transport living plants. From Casimiro Gomez Orte- ga’s Instruccion (1 779). Archivos General de las Indias, Seville. amples of the acclimatization of foreign plants in Spain. These boxes antedate by more than fifty years the first documented use of Wardian cases by the British. (Gomez Ortega does cite British and French accom- plishments in the transport of plants.) In addition, the Instruccion is sprinkled with practical horticultural information on the propagation and viability of seeds, as well as on various methods of vegetative propaga- tion. There is even an excerpt from a royal decree stressing the economic and ornamen- tal importance of this plant material to Spain. The decree also mentions the need to distrib- ute the Instruccion not only to Spanish offi- cialdom in the colonies, but to all interested individuals in the colonies, mentioning in particular the clergy, who were in most in- stances at the frontline of unexplored territo- ries and who were undoubtedly the better- educated individuals in those regions. Spain's Expeditions to America (1777-1808) Perhaps the most significant and most widely studied endeavors undertaken by the Spanish Crown on behalf of New World natural his- tory occurred under Casimiro Gomez Orte- ga's stewardship of the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid from 1771 to 1801. During the last quarter of the Eighteenth Century, Spain sponsored four major scientific expeditions of a decidedly botanical character to the colo- nies. The first was the Ruiz and Pavon Expedi- tion to the kingdoms of Peru and Chile ( 1 777- 1788). Later (1783-1808), the Botanic Garden assisted the work of a priest and naturalist named Jose Celestino Bruno Mutis y Bosio (1732-1808) in his long-term study of the flora of New Granada, or Colombia. In addi- tion, there was the Royal Scientific Expedi- tion to New Spain (Mexico) (1787-1803), whose plants had fascinated the Spanish since the time of Francisco Hernandez in the 1570s. The last of Spain's great expeditions was a global voyage of discovery, the Malas- pina Expedition (1789-1794). All of these expeditions yielded large amounts of data on the natural history of Spain's dominions. Perhaps the richest amassing of data occurred on behalf of bot- any, for the Spanish discovered many new species. Their observations and painstaking examinations of the diverse flora of these regions yielded vast quantities of descrip- tions, drawings, sketches, watercolors, and herbarium specimens, as well as numerous trial cultivations in Madrid and other, more climatically appropriate botanic gardens in Spain. Madrid Botanical Garden 1 5 Sadly, however, the full potential of Span- ish botany during the Eighteenth Century re- mained largely unfulfilled. The Nineteenth Century had some cruel hardships in store for Spain that would lead this scientific windfall to remain dormant and forgotten for nearly a century and a half after these exciting voyages of discovery took place. Not until relatively recently has the scientific potential of the Spanish Enlightenment come again to the at- tention of scholars. The Ruiz and Pavon Expedition (1777- 1788). Perhaps the best documented and most carefully studied Spanish expedition to the New World was the Ruiz and Pavon Expedi- tion to the kingdoms of Chile and Peru of 1777-1778. The landmark study of this im- portant expedition is Arthur Steele's Flowers for the King. A remarkable book, it was one of the first and best attempts at careful, schol- arly analysis of the Expedition, its partici- pants, goals, and accomplishments. This arduous, eleven-year expedition to Chile and Peru was a cooperative effort be- tween the governments of Spain and France. The French, who had pressured the Spanish for an expedition to these kingdoms in order to recover the long-lost manuscripts of Joseph de Jussieu (1704-1 779), appointed Joseph Dombey (1742-1794), a well established botanist, to the Expedition. The Spanish pro- vided most of the manpower that made the exploration possible. In addition to appoint- ing draftsmen and painters to the Expedition, Gomez Ortega selected two bright, young botany graduate students from Madrid, Hipolito Ruiz Lopez (1754-1816) and Jose Antonio Pavon y Jimenez (1754-1840). Both were twenty-three at the time of their depar- ture in 1 777 and both — Ruiz in particular — were to make the most significant contribu- tions of the Expedition. Through the ceaseless efforts of Hipolito Ruiz, the Expedition contributed more to the early understanding of New World plants than any other Spanish expedition. In addi- tion to publishing Flora Peruviana, et Chilen- sis (1798-1802), a project that was never completed because of the disastrous turn of events in Spain at the beginning of Nine- teenth Century, the Ruiz and Pavon Expedi- tion also probably yielded most in terms of the cultivation and acclimatization of New World plants in Spain — Alstroemeria haem- antha Ruiz St Pavon, Brugmansia sanguinea (Ruiz St Pavon) D. Don ( Datura sanguinea Ruiz St Pavon), Fuchsia corymbiflora Ruiz St Pavon, Fuchsia magellanica var. macro- sterna Ruiz S. Pavon, etc. Jose Celestino Mutis in New Granada (1760-1808). The work of Jose Celestino Mutis in the Kingdom of New Granada, or Colombia, amounted to a one-man expedi- tion. Mutis was aided by a team of local draftsmen and painters, whom he had as- sembled for the arduous task of collecting, dissecting, and drawing more than five thou- sand black-and-white and color illustrations of that region's flora. The Mutis venture was testimony to a single-minded enthusiasm for botany. Mutis had set off for America in 1760, independent of government initiation, to study firsthand the natural history of the colonies while working as a physician to the Virey (Viceroy, or "Governor") of New Granada. He died in 1808, in New Granada. During his early years, Mutis had made various requests to the Court of Charles III for permission to devote his time fully to the study of the flora of New Granada, but his re- quests went unheeded; nevertheless, he en- tered into correspondence with Linnaeus, sending him various samples of plants, in- cluding quinine, or Cinchona sp. Not until 1782 did Mutis finally receive approval for his study, which was known as the Real Expe- dition al Nuevo Reino de Granada (1783- 1808). Mutis's dedication and fervor were bound- less,- he compiled immense amounts of mate- rial, both herbarium specimens and illustra- 16 Madrid Botanical Garden tions. Yet the results of his work had little impact on what was taking place in Madrid for, unlike Ruiz and Pavon, he had not been selected by Gomez Ortega, and thus his "Expedition" had no administrative support back in Madrid. This may explain why Mutis's results remained unpublished during his lifetime and why, after the many herbar- ium specimens and exquisite illustrations were deposited in Madrid in the 1830s, they remained largely unexamined for nearly a century. This may also explain why his study had little to offer in terms of the cultivation of New World plants in Spain. Perhaps the only real recognition Mutis received during his life was that offered in 1803 by Alexander von Humboldt ( 1 769— 1 859) duringa visit to Mutis in Colombia. Ap- parently, Mutis, nearing the end of his life, gave von Humboldt many duplicates of his own specimens and illustrations. Von Hum- boldt freely accepted these valuable offerings and used much of the material in Plantaz dEquinoctiales (Paris, 1808), his flora of Cen- tral and South America. Von Humboldt (and his coauthor, Aime Bonpland) dedicated the flora to Mutis.15 Martin Sesse's Expedition to New Spain (1787-1803). One of the last major Spanish botanical expeditions was the Royal Scien- tific Expedition to New Spain, as Mexico and the other Spanish territories in North Amer- ica were called. This endeavor (called the "Sesse and Mocino Expedition" or, officially, La Expedicion Botanica al Reino de Nueva Espana) began in 1787 and ended in 1803. It bore some resemblance to the Mutis venture in having been initiated by a naturalist and physician who was already living in the New World — Martin de Sesse y Lacasta (1751- 1809). It differed from Mutis's in that Sesse developed direct ties with Casimiro Gomez Ortega, who got for Sesse both financial sup- port and the necessary Royal Decree. Martin Sesse's objective was not only the botanical exploration of Mexico but the establishment there of a botanical garden. Also appointed as botanists on the Expedition were Vicente Cervantes (1755-1829) and Jose Mariano Mocino (1757-1820). Gomez Ortega's main objective in supporting Sesse was to acquire new plants and seeds for the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid. This, perhaps, is where the Expedition was Mexico City in 1823. At middle left is the hill of Chapultepec, crowned by the unfinished Royal Palace, whose gardens were the site of the Real Jardin Botanico de Mexico from 1791 until the Garden ceased to exist some time after 1824. The Potrero de Atlampa, at the far edge of the wet, marshy area between Chapultepec and the city itself (foreground), was the site of the Garden from its founding by Martin Sesse in 1787 until the move to the Palace grounds. Its wetness made it unsuitable. From Chronica Botanica (1947), after W. Bullock, Six Month Residence and Travels in Mexico (1824). Madrid Botanical Garden 1 7 Portrait of Jose Celestino Bruno Mutis y Bosio (1732-1808) in Alexander von Humboldt and Aime Bonpland’s flora of Central and South America, Plantae /£quinoctiales (1808), which was dedicated to Mutis for his single-minded devotion to botany. For twenty-two years (1760-1782) Mutis independently pursued his botanical studies in New Granada (Colombia), finally receiving approval from the King in 1782. 18 Madrid Botanical Garden Map of the explorations made in New Spain by Jose Mociho, 1 790-1 793 and 1 795-1 799. From Harold William Rickett, The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain 1788-1820, Chronica Botanica, Volume 11 (1947). most successful. Its success is evident in the large number of seeds and plants that were re- corded as having entered the Botanic Garden while it was under way (1787-1804). Thanks to the Sesse Expedition, plants such as Cos- mos spp. and Dahlia spp. arrived in Madrid, whence they were disseminated to the rest of Europe. The Sesse Expedition never published the results of its labors in a "Flora Mexicana," again because of the disastrous disruption Spain experienced in the next century. Flora Mexicana and Plantas de Nueva Espaha were not published until 1893 and 1894, re- spectively, by the Sociedad de Historia Natu- ral de Mexico. The Malaspina Expedition (1789-1794). The last major expedition undertaken by the Spanish Crown was the globe-girdling Malas- pina Expedition of 1789-1794. Iris H. W. Engstrand's study, Spanish Scientists in the New World, skillfully chronicles the scope and breadth of the Expedition. Its namesake, Alejandro Malaspina (1754-1809), a re- nowned navigator, was commissioned by Charles IV to conduct a natural history expe- dition to most of the Spanish territories around the globe, from the Atlantic to Peru and the Pacific, up to the Pacific Northwest, to Nootka Sound and across the Pacific to the Philippines. The botanists on this expedition were the France-born Luis Nee [fl. 1791), the Madrid Botanical Garden 19 Spaniard Antonio Pineda y Ramirez (1753- 1 792), and the Bohemian naturalist Thaddaus (or Tadeo) Hanke (1761-1817), who discov- ered the redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) near Monterey, California, in 1791, during the Expedition.16 This expedition, like the others, ended in desperation when the time came to publish the copious data it had gathered in its long, arduous travels. When it returned to Madrid in 1794, the Malaspina Expedition momen- tarily basked in praise, but Alejandro Malas- pina then became involved in Court intrigue engineered by Charles IV's wife, Queen Maria Luisa of Parma, against the King's most influ- ential advisor (and the Queen's lover), the re- actionary Manuel Godoy Alvarez de Faria (1767-1851), the so-called "Prince of Peace." Malaspina was convicted of treason and ban- ished.17 The Expedition was moderately success- fully, however, with respect to botany and the cultivation of New World plants, thanks pri- marily to the efforts of Luis Nee and the up and coming Spanish botanist, Antonio Jose Cavanilles (1745-1804), back in Madrid. The Old Guard Steps Down By the beginning of the Nineteenth Century there were clear indications that Casimiro Gomez Ortega was in his waning days of power and influence at the Royal Botanic Garden. He was about to be superseded by someone of remarkable botanical ability and productivity. The understanding of these events lies in the description and publication of two common garden plants, the dahlia and the cosmos. Dahlia and Cosmos have already been mentioned as genera that were introduced to Europe as the direct result of the Sesse and Mocino expedition to New Spain, which had been fostered by Gomez Ortega himself. In- terestingly, however, the plants were de- scribed by Antonio Jose Cavanilles, perhaps the most prolific and first truly world-class botanist of Spanish origin. Antonio Jose Cavanilles was born in Valencia in 1745, where he studiedat the Uni- versity of Valencia, obtaining a degree in phi- losophy and theology. During a trip to Paris in 1 770, he became interested in natural history. In 1781, at the age of thirty-six, he dedicated himself fully to botany. His rapid progress made many take note of the Spaniard, includ- ing Antoine de Jussieu (1748-1836). While in Paris, he began work on botanical mono- graphs, the first being one on the Linnaean Class Monadelphia.18 When he returned to Spain in 1 790, he had become one of the most celebrated botanists of the age. The renown he had gained while in Paris was not easily overlooked by Gomez Ortega and his fellow botanists, and soon professional jealousies erupted. A full-blown battle was to engulf all the Spanish botanists of the time. When the smoke finally cleared, Gomez Ortega and Ruiz and Pavon were the losers. Cavanilles was appointed director of the Garden in 1801 and quickly upgraded all aspects of the institution, from its herbarium to its conservatories. Cavanilles and his assis- tants produced an important body of techni- cally superior literature that was full of accu- rate descriptions and determinations of many New World plants. A publication that sheds much light on the significant botanical descriptions brought to bear by the industrious Cavanilles was De- scripciones de las Plantas Demonstrandas en las Lecciones Publicas ( Descriptions of the Plants Demonstrated in the Public Lessons [of Botany}). It reveals that over one hundred fifty plants of the New World were being cul- tivated in the Garden in Madrid, many of them described by Cavanilles in 1803. Sadly, this remarkable productivity and genius did not last long. 20 Madrid Botanical Garden Madrid Botanical Garden 21 A stand of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens /D. Don] Endlichei) at Santa, Cruz, California, photographed not far from the site where Thaddaus Hanke discovered the redwood in 1791 while he was a member of the Malaspina Expedition. In 1792, at Santa Cruz itself, Archibald Menzies, who was a member of England’s rival Vancouver Expedition (1791-1795), collected the specimen from which David Don described the new species [as Taxodium sempervirens,) in 1824. The map on the opposite page shows the landfalls of both expeditions on what is now the Pacific Coast of the United States. The photograph, which is from the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum, was taken in 1908 by G. R. King. The map is taken from Susan Delano McKelvey’s Botanical Exploration of the Trans-Mississippi West (1955). The Nineteenth Century: End of an Era Short was the time the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid enjoyed the intellectual vigor of Antonio Jose Cavanilles. Cavanilles's death * in 1804 signalled the beginning of the long, disastrous twilight the Garden would suffer through the rest of the Nineteenth Century and the better part of the Twentieth. With Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1 808, the last embers of the limelight in which Spanish botany had so recently basked were snuffed out. The Madrid Botanic Garden appears to have been adequately maintained and cared for throughout the Nineteenth Century, but the intellectual momentum of its first fifty years was lost. During the late Nineteenth Century, its formal, geometric, and rational- ist Eighteenth Century plan gave way to the Romantic notions in fashion at the time. The 22 Madrid Botanical Garden Romantic curvilinear "Isabelino" style took prominence throughout the site. Apparently, the era of rationalist vision had long since withered, and what remained was a painful sentimentality. During that time new green- houses were built to house what remained of the exotic plants of days long gone, yet even this activity could not save the Garden from the tragic fate that awaited Spanish society in the Twentieth Century. The Twentieth Century: Democratic Reawakening Initially, the Twentieth Century and the Industrial Revolution were times of great promise and creativity for Spain. By the 1930s, however, the political tensions that were being felt throughout Europe and that presaged the coming World War, erupted in Spain as a bloody civil war in 1936. With the advent of Francisco Franco in the late 1930s, Spain was headed, once again, for a period of creative sterility. The intellectual reawakening of the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid came gradually, be- ginning in the late 1 950s with the publication of scholarly works dedicated to reevaluating the institution's early expeditions. Neverthe- less, the evidence (including Arthur Steele's touching description of a director clutching a faded guest book) suggests that the Garden was in a sorry state of disrepair.19 During the late 1960s, a new administration building was constructed where Spanish botanists could once again work in modern surround- ings. The Garden's physical restoration began in 1974, sparked by an ill-conceived proposal to make it the site of a Goya Museum. Thank- fully, the winds of democracy were stirring in Spain at the time. With Franco's death in 1975, the stage was set for a complete histori- cal restoration of the Garden, one that would return it to its formal grace. For seven years during the restoration process the Garden was closed to the public. Finally, on Decem- ber 2, 1981, with the King of Spain present — this time as a constitutional monarch — the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid was reopened to the public. The Garden Today Today, thanks to the sensitive restoration plans by Leandro Silva Delgado, one of Spain's leading landscape designers, the Gar- den is slowly regaining its grace. The lower, rectangular parterres, or escuelas, are taking shape as the boxwood borders gradually fill in, forming a gentle green tapestry that appro- priately reflects the geometry and order of Eighteenth Century rational idealism. The center of each parterre is accented by under- stated fountains that gently burble water, reminiscent of the Moorish garden tradition that antedates the European discovery of America. Meanwhile, on the upper level, facing the two hundred-year-old conserva- tory, Nineteenth Century Romanticism has been preserved in curvilinear beds outlined by Viburnum tinus. Lush trees and shrubs offer the visitor retreat, security, and mys- tery, so essential in a Spanish garden. Under the watchful eyes of its new direc- tor, Santiago Castroviejo, the Garden has begun publishing the Flora Iberica. At the same time the Garden is encouraging interna- tional cooperation with Latin America in the painstaking process of reevaluation and pub- lication of the vast wealth of documentation and herbaria from the courageous Eighteenth Century expeditions of discovery. Endnotes 1. Jose Quer y Martinez, Flora Espahola, 6 Historia de las Plantas, Que Se Ciian en Espaha. Madrid: Joaquin Ibarra, 1762-1764. Four volumes. Volume 1 (1762), page 363. 2. Arthur Robert Steele, Flowers for the King (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1964), page 6. Madrid Botanical Garden 23 From 1974 until 1981, while it was being restored, the Madrid Botanic Garden had to be closed to the public. Plans developed by Leandro Silva Delgado, one of Spain's leading landscape architects, guided the restoration project. Shown here is construction work being done in February 1981 on the Ruiz and Pavon Pavilion, just inside the Puerto del Rey, or Royal Gate. (The Gate and the Paseo del Prado are in the background.) Photograph courtesy of J. Walter Brain. 3. Quer, Flora Espahola, Volume 1, page 60. 4. Manuscript letter, in Section "Secretaria y Superin- tendence de Hacienda," Legajo 951, Archivo Gen- eral de Simancas, Simancas, Spain. 5. Manuscript letter, ibid. 6. Manuscript letter, ibid. 7. Steele, Flowers for the King, page 31. 8. Manuscript letter, op. cit., Legajo 951. 9. Manuscript letter, ibid. 10. Steele, Flowers for the King, page 37. 11. Manuscript letter in Section "Carlos III," Legajo 38 75, Archivo del Palacio Real, Madrid. 12. Manuscript, Division I, Legajo 3, 6, 7, Archivos, Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid. 13. Ibid. 14. Madrid: Ibarra. Call Number 255/24, Archivos Gen- eral de las Indias, Seville, Spain. 15. Frontispiece to Volume 1 of Alexander von Hum- boldt and Aime Bonpland, Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland. Sixieme Partie, Botanique. Plantes Equi- noxiales. . . . 2 volumes. Paris: Schoell, 1808, 1809. 24 Madrid Botanical Garden I am grateful to Santiago Diaz Piedralita for calling my attention to this fact. 16. Willis Linn Jepson, in his The Silva of California (Berkeley, 1910), says (page 138) that "The Redwood was first collected near Monterey by Thaddeus Haenke of the Malaspina Expedition in 1791, who may be said to be its botanical discoverer. The second collector was Archibald Menzies of the Vancouver Expedition [which touched Monterey first in 1792). . . . No exact locality has ever been given for the Menzies collection, but while examining Menzies' original specimen at the British Natural History Museum in London I [ i.e ., Jepson] turned over the sheet and discovered written on the back 'Santa Cruz, Menzies.'" 17. Iris H. W. Engstrand, Spanish Scientists in the New World (Seattle, 1981), page 107. 18. Miguel Colmeiro, La Botdnica y los Botanicos (Madrid, 1858), pages 173-174. 19. Steele, Flowers for the King, page vii. Select Bibliography Carmen Anon, Santiago Castroviejo, and Antonio Fernandez Alba. Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid, Pabellon de Inverndculos (Noticias de una Restitucion Historical . Madrid: Con- sejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1983. 118 pages. Marquesa de Casa Valdes, fardines de Espana. Madrid: Aguilar, 1973. xix + 299 pages. Jose de Castro Arines and Fernando Huici. Leandro Silva Delgado: En Torno a un Jardin y a un Paisaje: Acuarelas, Fotografias y Collages. Madrid: Galena Ynguanzo, 1981. (Pamphlet.) Antonio Jose Cavanilles. Descripcion de las Plantas, Que A. f. Cavanilles Demostro en las Lecciones Publicas del Aho 1801-[1802], Pre- cedida de los Ptincipios Elementales de la Botdnica. Madrid: Imprenta Real, 1802. cxxxvi + 625 pages. Miguel Colmeiro y Penido. Bosquejo Historico Esta- distico del fardin Botanico de Madrid. Anales de la Sociedad Espanola de Historia Natural, Volume 4. Madrid: T. Fortanet, 1875. iv + 105 pages + plates. . La Botdnica y los Botanicos de la Peninsula Hispano-Lusitana. Madrid: Rivadeneyra, 1858. x + 216 pages. Iris H. W. Engstrand. Spanish Scientists in the New World: The Eighteenth-Century Expeditions. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1981. xiv + 220 pages. Casimiro Gomez de Ortega. Continuacion de la Flora Espanola, 6 Historia de las Plantas, Que Se Crian en Espana. Two volumes. Madrid: Ibarra, 1784. xxxii + 538 + 667 pages + 34 plates. . Instruccion sobre el Modo Mas Seguro y Economico de Transportar Plantas Vivas por Mar y por Tierra a los Paises Mas Distantes. Madrid: Ibarra, 1 779. 70 pages. Jose Quer y Martinez. Flora Espanola, 6 Historia de las Plantas, Que Se Crian en Espana. Four vo- lumes. Madrid: Ibarra, 1762-1764. 402 pages + 1 1 plates; 303 pages + 33 plates; 436 pages + 79 plates; and 471 pages + 66 plates. Harold William Rickett, translator and collator. The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain 1788-1820 As Described in Documents in the Archivo General de la Nacion [Mexico]. Chronica Botanica, Volume 11, Number 1, pages 1 to 86 ( 1947). Leandro Silva Delgado. The restoration of the Royal Botanical Garden, Madrid. A Future for Our Past [Council of Europe, Strasbourg], Number 29, pages 6 and 7 ( 1986). Arthur Robert Steele. Flowers for the King: The Expedi- tion of Ruiz and Pavon and the Flora of Peru. Durham: Duke University Press, 1964. xv + 378 pages. Acknowledgment I thank the staff and director of the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid for the gracious assistance they gave to me throughout the research phase of this project. Ricardo R. Austrich lives in Boston. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from Cornell University in 1984. Then, receiving a Dreer Award Fellowship, he spent a year in Spain studying Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century archival materials dealing with the history of Spanish botany and horticul- ture. Currently, he is employed as a consultant by an architecture firm in the Boston area. inni inn N55 LU Plaza de Murillo ( -kudin REAL JARDIN BOTANICO (Gloria* dc k» Ties) 1 » ( .vuyidn de Vapnii CS.LC. Plan de la Flo am aka dd Jafdte, tradic Plan de la Floe, pot an F3t Tin (Gkrin