Tor January, 1923 



Japanese Morning-Glories 



SOME of our most popular flowers have either origi- 

 nated, or been much improved in Japan. The morn- 

 ing-glory, called by the Japanese "asagao," is one 

 ■of the plants to which they have paid particular attention. 

 Although brought to Japan about the sixth century by 

 priests and scholars who had gone to China to study the 

 Buddhist religion, it was not until about the seventeenth 

 century that the morning-glory received any special at- 

 tention. Flowers then began to be produced in innumer- 

 able shades and combinations of colors and the size was 

 considerably increased. About 1830 the "asagao" again 

 became popular, growers vying with each other in pro- 

 ducing new varieties, and a single seed might command 

 a price of twenty-five dollars or more. Interest gradu- 

 ally declined, however, and the art of cultivating this 



Jaftancsc Moniin^^-Gloiy Bloxsoin 



plant was retained only by a few priests. Aliout 1895 

 interest was again revived, "asagao clubs" were formed, 

 and famous morning-glory gardens were established in 

 Tokyo. Poetic names, such as frozen moonlight, foam 

 of the sea, dragon's spume, full moon, were bestowed 

 upon the finest blossoms ; artists used them in paintings 

 and designs ; and numerous jxjems were written on them 

 and to them. In fact, the morning-glory became a na- 

 tional cult even more than the chrysanthemum had ever 

 been. The Japanese growers went to every possible ex- 

 treme in changing the shape and color of the flowers. 

 Not being satisfied with this achievement, they devoted 

 their attention to producing the greatest variety of odd- 

 shaped leaves, and in their quest for eccentricities pro- 

 duced flat stems which have the appearance of a wide- 

 ribbed ribbon, as if many stems were laid side by side 

 and then merged into one. The "asagao" was not only 

 popular because of the wide range in size and color of the 

 flowers but because the plants could be grown as 

 '■dwarfs." 



Attempts have repeatedly been made to show these 

 Japanse morning-glories at the Garden, but all the seed 

 obtained either failed to germinate or produced the com- 

 mon types of this country. In the early part of this year. 



however, seed of these dwarf morning-glories were ob- 

 tained from Japan through Mr. Takashi ^Nlatsumoto, a 

 former student in the Shaw School of Eotany. This seed 

 was divided, one-half being sown the middle of February 

 and the second half the beginning of June. The seeds of 

 the first lot germinated very unevenly, but by cutting a 

 notch in those seeds that failed to show signs of life in 

 two weeks the majority were made to develop. Most 

 of these plants were extremely dwarf, sometimes being 

 less than a foot high with not more than half a dozen 

 leaves. These tiny plants produced the most gorgeously 

 colored flowers, often four to five inches in diameter. 

 Seeds from these flowers did not set freely, but the few 

 that were secured were planted as soon as mature. In 

 the second generation, however, instead of dwarf speci- 

 mens, plants were produced that climbed fifteen feet and 

 more. The size of the flowers was not diminished, some 

 of the pink varieties measuring six inches in width. Still 

 more interesting and peculiar is the fact that the second 

 planting of the original lot of seed received from Japan, 

 which was made the first week in June, instead of produc- 

 ing dwarf plants, sent out long vines so that the bamboo 



JapiincsL- Morning-Glory Plant 



trellises, described in the Japanese instructions, had to be 

 employed to train them. In order that germination might 

 be hastened every seed of this second lot was cut, and 

 practically all germinated within forty-eight hours. 



The following directions, printed just as translated by 

 Mrs. Matsumoto, were received with the seeds : 



"CULTCRE OF THE AIoRNIXG-GlORY" 



"In order to meet the requirements for growing the 

 morning-glory, the soil must be superior in two respects, 

 drainage and fertility. Under no circumstances use heavy 

 clay. 



"The time of sowing is entirely governed bv the cli- 

 mate, and it is ver\- important that the growers should 

 be acquainted with their local climatic conditions before 

 growing these special plants. For the vicinity of Tokyo 

 the sowing season generally starts in the middle of Tklay 

 or a little earlier. In general, the plants grow much bet- 

 ter in warm places ; therefore, the growers should not 



