Once upon a time, when Niiharu Forest became a citizen forest for the City of Yokohama, the place was known for its beautiful wild Asian fawnlily (Erythronium japonicum). It was white lilies of 30cm or so height, nobly opened their flowers early spring. Now, there is no wild Asian fawnlily in Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森. We Lovers of Niiharu is protecting yellow horticultural variety planted by the mother of Mr. Okutsu for her private “garden,” before the place became the Citizen Forest. (I won’t tell you exactly where.) For one thing, wild Asian fawnlily is a beautiful plant decorating spring. It is popular among gardeners. The entire plant of Asian fawnlily is edible. Many may have entered the Niiharu Forest to collect the fawnlilies for spring treat … The root of the plant is THE high-quality starch that can give silky texture for dishes. The starch, called “REAL katakuriko 純正カタクリ粉” is extremely difficult to find in stores on site or online. I guess only a couple of top-end Japanese restaurants in Tokyo or Kyoto use it for a select few customers. The starch is from specialty farm carefully nurturing Asian fawnlily … So, if someone came and found wild colonies of precious Asian fawnlily, that person may have concluded “Well, there are so many. I can bring one of them to my flowerpot, free. It’s a treasure!” Ha. So, beautiful and delicious Asian fawnlily was gone years ago from Niiharu. By theft.
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| Saxifraga
stolonifera. Its
leaves are also edible. Very luckily, they are not endangered. Many homes in mountainous area plant them in their garden and pick the leaves early spring for their meal. I guess Asian fawnlily was once like them … |
That kind of story is rife in Japan. “Celebrated plant hunter” could sound paradoxical … I simply wonder what kind of cultural difference exists between Britain and Japan ... Anyway, one day, I asked a veteran Kanagawa Forest Instructor why some people steal wild rare species from nature. He said, “Well … there is certain allure to ‘possess’ something special … It’s not possible to explain logically.” He was a ranger for Southern Japanese Alps and retired as a celebrated microbiologist for one of the leading Japanese Pharma. Such resume of his cannot explain this strange behavior of humans. “You see? These days I myself is addicted to collect primulas. I don’t care how far I drive to obtain a pot of rare primula. At that very moment when I get the flower, I don’t think how difficult it is to preserve the beauty. I feel extremely happy imagining my conservatory with new collection sitting pretty. ‘Owning’ has a strong meaning, I guess. Later, more clear-headed I realize the intricacy of taking care of the plants.” Gee. Even though, he always keeps his rationality not to dig up extremely rare species. He, a microbiologist, knows very well such vegetation cannot survive out of nature, unless high-tech labo provide 24/7 complicated care in test tubes. Let me explain.
Any living things on the planet depend on each other for survival. Homo sapience needs healthy microbiome in digestive organ. For flora, yeah, the common plants manufacture nutrients by themselves with photosynthesis. But even they need help from mycorrhizal fungus that can provide minerals underground that are indispensable for survival of plants. In return for subsistence the fungi receive saccharides produced by plant’s photosynthesis. “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” Many plants have relaxed attitude for fungal collaboration, like “Basically I’m not so picky to collaborate for obtaining underground minerals or the like as long as the fungi are in XYZ phylum (division).” If their chosen phylum is for lots of common fungi, such plant species can survive in a variety of circumstances. They only need enough sunlight, water, and ubiquitous fungi belonging to their phylum. When a plant hunter has a success for moving plants from their native home, they are such species that can endure new environments with omnivorous tendencies for collaborating fungi, I presume. On the other hand, there are the other kinds of flora which are choosy regarding to their partner fungi. The most known such headstrong family is orchids.
According to Wikipedia, their often astonishingly beautiful and characteristic flowers have high efficiency in attracting insects for pollination. Some even evolve themselves together with the evolution of insects in order to speed up procreation. Hmmmmmmm. They also use other living things for their sustenance. They DO need very specific kinds of fungi for nutrients. Yes, many have green leaves some of which are large ones, but orchids are mixotrophic plants, i.e. they cannot prepare enough nutrition by self-photosynthesis only. Fungi is a medium that syphons not only minerals of the ground but also sugars from the other photosynthesizing plants (; more to it next week). Just like homo sapience, they utilize the other living things for individual and family survival. That’s the reason why they are sometimes called the most evolutionally advanced plants. The orchids we find in flower shops are epiphyte, when growing in wild they are on a bough of tropical rainforest. As you know they have thick, pipe-like roots, called mycorrhiza, that are rooms for collaborating fungi. But such semi-floating existence does not restrain the lives of tropical orchids in complex soil and fungi relationships. In their native tropical rain forest, they have frequent showers every day that can wash away soil and/or fungi before they establish an interactive structure. The orchids are OK if they can have enough nutrients in whatever form. When farmers nurture their commercial tropical orchids, they give them man-made nutritious medium for their sterilized seeds. The plant produces beautiful flowers with artificially concocted high-powered fertilizer juice only. It’s like protein powder for bodybuilders. They do not need fungi for survival but need courteous care of humans. They are using homo sapience as a collaborator of survival.
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| Your
highness opened during a dead winter after fully utilizing our family’s labor force. |
Wikipedia continues there are roughly 15000 known species of orchids that grow everywhere on the planet except in Antarctic. The orchids growing outside the tropical area are often not epiphyte. They sprout from ground, highly dependent on specific fungi thriving in the locale. In Japan there are about 230 known species of orchids. Many of them are not epiphyte. This means, they really need the environment of the soil they stand in which their chosen mycorrhizal fungus prospers. And here comes the origin of the problem. Say, you walk in Japanese forest and find a beautiful flower on the ground. You fell in love. You dig up the root, gently wrap the plant in a plastic bag with a little bit of water and hurry up home to transfer the flower in your pot. Alas, that’s flower is from orchid family. Your store-bought soil does not contain enough fungi as the flower’s home. The soil that attached to the mycorrhiza may have spare supply of fungi, but mycellium themselves need forest environment for survival. Soon fungi die and your lover will follow their microscopic buddy to perish. You’ll have an empty pot. The tragedy keeps happening when somebody tries to get wild orchids from Japanese forest. Many of them are now in the category of “Endangered species.”
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| Thrixspermum japonicum. One of a handful of Japanese endemic orchids which is epiphyte. Even though, it is extremely difficult to nurture it artificially. It is small plant that cannot store nutrition much. Once it is removed from its wild environment, it cannot survive long with its small food pantry inside. Good news is, it is commonly found in deep mountains of Kanagawa whether the forest is broad-leaved or coniferous. It seems to us it only needs proper humidity, sunlight, wind, and rainfall coming down via the tree boughs carrying nutrition. Better advised not to remove them from wild. Please admire the flowers in April on your hiking road. |
In addition,the problem is not only for orchids, but also with the other species of mixotrophic or even mycoheterotrophic plants. More to it for next week. Please stay tuned.
657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121 厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323
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