Styrax japonicus • Japanese Snowbell

Styrax

Japanese Snowbell

エゴノキ

斎敦果

ego-no-ki

We have two of them in the Garden, and this post is about the one in Area F (the other grows in Q, along the W path;  + one styrax obassia, also native to Japan, which grows in W).  S. japonicum in F  is best viewed  form across the lawn at the south end of the Area F for its outline and growth pattern, and from the second shortcut for an up-close inspection.  Styrax japonicum blooms beginning of June, usually a week+ later than styrax obassia.  This year s. japonicum  started to bloom about the time when s. obassia started to drop its flowers.

SJG • 2/6/14 – Styrax japonicus • Japanese Snowbell, Area F, seen from the S end of the lawn

SJG • 2/6/14 – Styrax japonicus • Japanese Snowbell – FLOWERS

From Wikipedia, general info on styrax:  Styrax is a genus of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern and southeastern Asia, but also crossing the equator in South America. Common names include styrax, or the more ambiguous storax, snowbell, and benzoin. […]

From Missouri Botanical Garden: […] Japanese snowbell is a compact, deciduous flowering tree with horizontal branching and a rounded crown. It typically grows to 20-30’ tall and as wide, but infrequently can reach up to 50’ tall. It is noted for its pendulous clusters of bell-shaped, mildly fragrant, 5-petaled, waxy white flowers (each to 3/4” diameter) that bloom in May-June. Drooping flower clusters are easily visible because of the upward posture of the foliage. Flowers give way to greenish-brown, olive-shaped drupes that often persist into late autumn. […]

Here is link to Peter Meyer’s article ‘The snowbells of Korea’ – it’s about both s. japonicus an obassia; Harvard University posted it in PDF form, so it doesn’t copy, but you can go there and enjoy reading it.

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Menziesia ciliicalyx var. multiflora • Menziesia

Menziesia

Menziesia

ヨウラクツツジ

瓔珞躑躅

yōraku-tsutsuji

You will probably never see this plant in SJG, because it is well hidden behind the green hedge surrounding the Tea House garden in Area W, and even if you are inside the roji  you can’t see it – it grows to the left/north of the oribe lantern, but behind and below big pieris japonica.

Even with tips on how to find it, it took me some time and going off the stepping stone path and behind bushes where you will never be allowed to go…  It has quite interesting bell-shaped purplish-pink flowers and oval vivid-green leaves that emerge in clusters of about 5, similar to r. quinquefolium, except that menziesia leaves are thicker and more fleshy.

SJG • 5/30/14 – Menziesia cillicalyx var. multiflora • Menziesia, Area W – the crooked V-shaped shrub in the center of the pick; the pink dots are its flowers.

SJG • 5/30/14 – Menziesia cillicalyx var. multiflora • Menziesia, Area W – Flowers

SJG • 5/30/14 – Menziesia cillicalyx var. multiflora • Menziesia, Area W – LEAF pattern

From Rainy Side Gardeners: Menziesia ciliicalyx var. multiflora;  Family: Ericaceae. Origin: Japan. […] The genus Menziesia is named after naturalist Archibald Menzies (1754-1842), who explored our Pacific coast with Captain Vancouver from 1791 to 1795. Seven species in this genus are endemic to eastern North America and Japan. A slow-growing shrub, M. ciliicalyx var. multiflora does best in a woodland setting, in partial shade; however, it will grow in full sun in the Northwest. Related to the rhododendron, and like one, this rounded shrub prefers our acidic soils. It shrub adapts well to growing in a container, provided the soil medium drains well. […]  Their photo shows purplish/pink flowers similar to ours.

This entry, form UK Alpine Garden Society, disputes the flower color: Erect habit, rarely more than 60cm high, often less, but up to 1m. in the wild. Leaves obovate to ovate-oblong, 2.5-5cm in length, loosely pilose and ciliate when young, membranous, glaucous beneath. Flowers narrowly bell-shaped, pale yellow or greenish-yellow, 1.3-1.7cm long, in umbels of three to eight, late spring to early summer. Japan, Honshu only, on hills and mountains in scrub. M.c. var. multiflora (syn. M. multiflora) has a racemose inflorescence and small flowers with short often glabrous, calyx lobes. Often treated as a distinct species. Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku. M.c. var. purpurea (syn. M. multiflora var. purpurea, M. lasiophylla) bears rose-purple flowers and has the leaves coarsely longpilose above (hairless in forma glabrescens). Honshu only. In British gardens, var. purpurea sometimes masquerades as the true M. purpurea, a shrub to 2m. or more with rose-pink, purplish or white flushed pink flowers. There are also several dwarf, slow-growing clones typified by ‘Buchanan’s Dwarf.

From the website Japanese Tree Flowers (Japan):
Family:  Ericaceae
Scientific name:  Menziesia multiflora Maximovicz
Synonyms: Menziesia ciliicalyx Maximovicz var. multiflora (Maximovicz) Makino; Menziesia multiflora Maximovicz var. purpurea (Makino) Ohwi; Menziesia multiflora Maximovicz var. tsuchiyae Hiyama; Menziesia multiflora Maximovicz var. tsuchiyae Hiyama forma glabrifolia Sugimoto
Common name: (Japanese common name) urajiro-youraku [youraku like folower with bacside white leaves (youraku = an ornamental goods of Buddha)], azuma-turigane-tutuji [Azuma bells tutuji (Azuma = an old name of Northeastern Japan, tutuji = Rhododendron plants)]
(English common name) none
Distribution: (Japan) Hokkaido (Southwestrn region), Honshu (west of Centrak region), Shikoku
(Other nations) none
[…]
Reference:  Menziesia ciliicalyx Maxim. var. multiflora (Maxim.) Makino
Note: Menziesia multiflora Maximovicz is not a synonym of Menziesia ciliicalyx Maximovicz. […]

Check the pics on the Japanese and British websites – maybe we have menziesia var. purpurea, or perhaps our menziesia masquerades as another one, I will probably never know; also note that the good professor Summer in Japan doesn’t list menziesia as endemic to North America, only to Japan.

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Rhododendron • Azalea (white by E roji gate in Area W)

Rhododendron • Rhododendron / Azalea • シャクナゲ / ツツジ • 石楠花 / 躑躅 • shakunage / tsutsuji

Not much to say about it, as we don’t have much info about this plant. It seats on the bottom left (south) of the steps to East (Enter) roji gate, and it blooms boldly beginning/mid May, when it gets covered in profuse large white blossoms with rusty-brown dotted splotch. In non-blooming time it simply blends into the green hedge surrounding the Tea House Garden and is hardly noticeable (although this year it got some extra-attention, as we too hastily misidentified its flowers  as r. semibarbetum, which in fact is much less showy, and resides inside of roji proper – that was one interesting plant hunt).

SJG • 5/13/14 – White azalea S of roji E gate. Area W

SJG • 5/13/14 – White azalea S of roji E gate. Area W; FLOWERS: white with rusty/brown splotch

Rhododendron • BICOLORED azaleas (R. ‘Quakeress’ and R. mucronatum ‘Sekidera’)

Rhododendron • Rhododendron / Azalea • シャクナゲ / ツツジ • 石楠花 / 躑躅 • shakunage / tsutsuji

• Evergreen Azaleas (bicolored types, blooming in May)

Both of these plants, and some unnamed ones in Area V, consist of two colors in striking color patterns. Stripes or sectors of contrasting colors (here, pink & white) occur in some of the 454 Glenn Dale Hybrids, which were developed in the 1930’s at the U.S. Arboretum Plant Introduction Station, and later released throughout the U.S. ‘Quakeress’ is one of these, created by complex crosses that included one of the parents of the Japanese Satsuki Hybrids, which originated much earlier, about 500 years ago.

The original Satsuki azaleas were natural hybrids of Rhododendron indicum & R. tamurae. Usually compact & twiggy plants, they bloomed in late May or June. Many of these plants displayed interesting color patterns, which initiated a long tradition of breeding for multiple patterns on the same plant, including solids, stripes, flakes, lines, sectors and margins. Not particularly stable, these patterns would vary significantly from year to year – even on the same plant.

Careful observation & descriptions evolved into a detailed Japanese system of classification. More than 20 color pattern variations include the following: Sokojiro (white throat); Tsumabeni (red fingernail); Hakeme shibori (brush variegation); Harusame shibori (spring rain variegation); and Fukiage shibori (fountain variegation).

These cherished Japanese flower patterns are seen in Seattle’s Japanese Garden in May as well as in June. ‘Quakeress’ and ‘Sekidera’ bloom in May, followed by a number of Satsuki Hybrids in June. [Corinne K.]

SJG • 5/8/14 – Rhododendron ‘Quakeress’ (foreground, blooming) and R. mucronatum ‘Sekidera’ (closer to the moon viewing platform, still in buds), Area V

SJG • 5/9/14 – Rhododendron ‘Quakeress’ in Area Q – corolla white with pink sectors

SJG • 5/9/14 – Rhododendron ‘Quakeress’ FLOWERS: corolla white with pink sectors

 

Rhododendron Daviesii • Azalea

Rhododendron • Rhododendron / Azalea • シャクナゲ / ツツジ • 石楠花 / 躑躅 • shakunage / tsutsuji

We have this sweet smelling azalea in many areas of the garden: one along the E path in Area G, one on the lawn in F (flanked by altaclerenses, blooming a tad bit earlier), one along the water in Q, one on the top of the rock wall in P, and three along the second shortcut in H – where you can just bend and inhale its fragrance, before getting on the stepping stones leading to Tea House Garden.  Below is Corinne’s K.’s  write-up for 2014:

Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ is a deciduous azalea with an open, upright habit, bluish-green leaves and funnel-shaped, very fragrant cream flowers with a yellow flare. It was originally acquired by the Arboretum in 1959, before being planted in the Japanese Garden.

It belongs to the group “Ghent Hybrid Azaleas,” which refers to breeding efforts that began in Ghent, Belgium, in the early 1800’s.   The “Viscosepalum Hybrids,” developed in England, include some of the earliest results of these efforts, with Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ being a “reverse cross” of the cultivar named ‘Viscosepalum.’ In other words, the seed parent of the latter is the pollen parent of ‘Daviesii,’ and vice versa. The name Rhododendron viscosepalum ‘Daviesii’ has been used to refer to it, but our Arboretum records correctly refer to it as simply Rhododendron ‘Daviesii.’ [Corinne K.}

SJG • 5/15/13 – 3 Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ • azalea in Area H, along the second shortcut between The E and W paths (pic taken from W path, across the water)

SJG • 5/15/13 – Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ • azalea, corolla cream with yellow flare, along the E path, Area G, right after the snow-white ‘Moonbeam azalea)

SJG • 5/15/13 – Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ • azalea – orange-tipped buds opening to corolla cream with yellow flare FLOWERS

From Seattle gardener who described this azalea; I looked at his post again and yes, it clears up the confusion: This is the flower of a plant that is called by many names, including Azalea ‘Daviesii’, Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’, Rhododendron (or Azalea) ‘Viscosepalum’ var. ‘Daviesii’, Rhododendron viscosum x molle, Rhododendron x viscosepalum Rehder ‘Daviesii’, and the Daviesii Ghent hybrid Azalea. I just call it my Davies azalea (the group of plants we call azaleas is a subset of the species Rhododendron). But I don’t need to know its name. I know its face and its fragrance. This plant, a deciduous azalea, is a good friend of mine, an ally of my best self, an olfactory lamp on my soul’s journey. […]

This write-up from Royal Horticultural Society further clarifies (although I don’t know what British classification ‘(G) AGM’ means – the plant pic on their website matches ours) : Rhododendron ‘Daviesii’ (G) AGM: […] Ghent azaleas are hardy deciduous shrubs derived from R. luteum and various American species. They have slender-tubed, funnel-shaped, usually fragrant flowers in early summer, in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red and white. ‘Daviesii’ is a medium-sized deciduous shrub of open habit, with bluish-green leaves and buff buds opening to fragrant white flowers with a yellow flare, at first tinged pink, in late spring and early summer. […]

SJG • 5/19/12 – Rhododendron viscocepalum var. ‘Daviesii’ • Azalea, Area Q (the small red azalea on the bank up north is rh. ‘Caroline Gable)