INTRODUCTION 



THE Conifers and Taxads of Japan are of especial interest to us as many of 

 them are of ornamental value in Western gardens. All that are known are now 

 in cultivation in this country and nearly all of them are also in Europe. Many 

 of these plants are perfectly hardy in the northern United States and in Europe, 

 and one or two promise to be of economic value as forest trees in Great Britain 

 and other countries. The importance and value of these trees warrant the publi- 

 cation of all available information concerning them. Much has been written 

 about them since the appearance of Siebold & Zuccarini's Flora Japonica, new 

 species have been discovered and much has been added to our knowledge of these 

 plants. Some problems, however, have remained unsolved in regard to the hab- 

 itat, the range of distribution and the validity of certain species and varieties. 

 To investigate these problems, to collect specimens and take photographs of the 

 trees was one of the principal objects of the Arnold Arboretum Expedition to Japan 

 in 1914. From Professor Sargent I received very definite instructions and these 

 I did my best to fulfill. In these days, thanks to a good railway service it is possi- 

 ble to travel quickly and with ease through the whole length of Japan, otherwise 

 it would have been impossible to cover the ground I did in one year. On the 

 island of Yaku-shima, the most southern point of Japan proper, the work began 

 in wonderful and impressive forests in which the Cryptomeria is the dominant 

 tree. From there I travelled northward through Kyushu, Shikoku, Hondo and 

 Hokkaido to Japanese Saghalien. I saw growing, with the exception of Juniperus 

 communis L. and its var. montana Ait., every conifer and taxad known from 

 Japan and with the exception of these Junipers and of Juniperus procumbens Sieb., 

 J. chinensis L., Pinus Armandi Franch. and Podocarpus nagi Zoll. & Moritz., I 

 saw them all, growing wild. There is no record of anyone foreigner or native 

 having previously enjoyed such opportunity to study these plants. I owe much 

 to the aid and advice of Dr. H. Shirasawa and Dr. K. Miyabe through whose 

 efforts the Government Forestry Officers everywhere gave me great assistance. 

 It is with pleasure that I recall the meetings and talks with these gentlemen and I 

 acknowledge with sincerest thanks their invaluable services to the Arnold Arbore- 

 tum Expedition to Japan. Since my return, and under the direction of Professor 

 Sargent, I have elaborated my field notes, and these with a full synonymy of the 

 different species and varieties and references to the principal literature appear in 

 the following pages. 



Japan is singularly rich in coniferous trees and they range from the extreme 

 south to the northern limit of the empire and from sea-level to the summits of 

 the highest mountains. They are more numerous than other trees and impart 

 much character to the scenery. Indeed, in Japan one is never out of sight of coni- 

 fers. In Pinaceae with 12 genera Japan compares favorably with North America 

 where 13 genera occur, but naturally in the larger territory of North America more 

 species are found. In Japan three genera are endemic and of the 32 species and 

 8 varieties of Pinaceae only 12 species and 2 varieties are known to grow spon- 

 taneously outside of that country. Neither of the two Hard Pines reaches the 

 mainland, but of the four Soft Pines the Korean Pinus koraiensis S. & Z. is really 



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