AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION 



The original Japanese language edition of my Flora of Japan 

 was published in Tokyo in 1953. This work included the in- 

 digenous and adventive spermatophytes but not the pterido- 

 phytes found in present-day Japan. Various authors have pub- 

 lished floras of our realm, the first were by Europeans who 

 visited Japan under Dutch auspices in the 17th, 18th, and 19th 

 centuries. Under the influence of Europeans our own people 

 began to collect plants in earnest after the middle of the 19th 

 century. Soon thereafter the first flora listing all the plants 

 known at that time was published by Jinzo Matsumura in 

 1884. Since that time other floras have been produced. 



My Flora is a culmination of more than 30 years of study. 

 Based largely upon my own field studies, this work is designed 

 as a manual for students and for others less technically trained, 

 who, from time to time, require a reference work to the flora 

 of our islands. The present translation, the only flora of Japan 

 in the English language and the first in a European tongue 

 since Franchet and Savatier's flora of 1875-79, is an emended 

 and in several respects a revised version of my original work. 

 Inclusion of the pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies), the pho- 

 tographs, and the maps are features of the English version not 

 found in my original Japanese edition. Also included in this 

 English edition are some species recently recorded and not in- 

 cluded in my Japanese edition. The nomenclature in the pres- 

 ent work is in accordance with the International Code (In- 

 ternational Rules Bot. Nom., 1961). 



I shall be pleased if this English edition of my Flora is found 

 to be useful to others outside my country. The translation 

 might never have been undertaken except for my acquaintance 

 with Leopold A. Charette of Burlington, Vermont, who, as a 

 member of the U.S. Air Force, collected plants in parts of 

 western Honshu and came to me for assistance shortly after 



publication of my flora in 1953. He urged me to prepare trans- 

 lations of certain genera for him, which I did. Very soon 

 thereafter, I accepted the proposal to translate the entire work 

 for publication in English. 



I am deeply grateful to Drs. Tetsuo Koyama and Siro Kit- 

 amura for contributing full treatments included here. The 

 former wrote up the Araceae, Eriocaulaceae, and Juncaceae; 

 the latter the Compositae. Much assistance has been generously 

 given by various other Japanese and American botanists. In 

 addition, much of the translation of this English version from 

 my Japanese volume of 1953 was made by Dr. Koyama, a 

 labor for which I am very grateful. 



I wish to thank my American sponsors for making this 

 translation of my Flora possible and for their continued and 

 devoted interest over the long period since this translation 

 project began in 1954. The Missouri Botanical Garden, St. 

 Louis, Missouri, sponsored the first two grants-in-aid received 

 from the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., for 

 translation in Japan of the Japanese text. A third and final 

 grant, again from the National Science Foundation, together 

 with funds provided by the Smithsonian Institution, made 

 publication possible. Final editing and all arrangements for 

 publication were entrusted to Frederick G. Meyer, Takoma 

 Park, Maryland (formerly of the Missouri Botanical Garden), 

 and Egbert H. Walker of the U.S. National Museum, Smith- 

 sonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (retired). To friends and 

 colleagues in my country I wish to extend thanks for provid- 

 ing photographs which appear in the present work and for 

 assisting me in various other ways. 



JisABURo Ohwi 

 National Science Museum, Tol^yo 

 January 1965 



