DECIDUOUS TREES AND SHRUBS OF JAPAN. 



17 



cultivation in the neighbourhood of the towns and large cities, 

 it is, I think, a more picturesque tree than the Chinese and 

 American species with which we are familiar in this country. 

 Among the most beautiful leguminous climbers and wall shrubs 

 of Japanese origin Indigofera decora, Ccesalpinia japonica, the 

 white and double-flowered varieties of Wistaria sinensis, and 

 Lespedeza bicolor are well worthy of a place in every garden 

 where room can be found for them. 



In the Rose family, some beautiful - trees are cultivated for 

 their flowers as well as for their fruit. Foremost among these 

 is Primus Mume, which, as Professor Sargent has pointed out, 

 is not a Plum but an Apricot. I saw it in Corea planted as a 

 shade tree along the borders of the high roads. That it 

 is a native of Corea is certain, and thence it was doubtless 

 originally introduced into Japan, where it has become one of the 

 most popular garden trees in the country. Under cultivation 

 Primus Mume produces white, rose-coloured, and red flowers, 

 sometimes double, which appear before the leaves in February 

 and March. Primus Mume is planted in almost every Japanese 

 garden of any pretensions ; it is often dwarfed and pruned in 

 a very curious manner, and in that state it is cultivated in 

 pots. Surpassing in importance Primus Mume as an ornamental 

 tree is P. pseudo-Cerasus, probably the largest rosaceous tree 

 in Japan. I have alluded in the Gardeners' Chronicle to the 

 striking effect produced by groups and avenues of this tree 

 when in full bloom. It is about the middle of April that it is 

 in its glory. At Mukojima a row along the river bank a mile 

 long, in some places faced by a row on the opposite side of 

 the road, presents a floral sight no!] easy to forget; it is like 

 walking under a ceiling of the softsst pink. Around Tokyo it 

 is to be seen everywhere ; anything more beautiful during the 

 few days it is in flower would be difficult to find. It much 

 resembles on superficial view the wild Cherry of our woods, 

 but it is larger, and the flowers are pink instead of white. In 

 the early autumn it is conspicuous in the landscape for its deep 

 scarlet leaves, which show their warm tints before those of the 

 Acers begin to change ; for this cause alone it is worthy of the 

 attention of the landscape gardener. Its fruit is valueless. 



The Japanese Flora includes about a dozen species of Pyrus, 

 of which three are common to Europe. Of the rest, our old 



c 



