Adventure in Yokohama Citizen Forest: October 2023

Friday, October 27, 2023

Rise and fall of exotic species: Dr. Makino and Juncus tenuis Willd. around Yokohama Zoorasia

Tomitaro Makino 牧野富太郎 is regarded as the Father of Japanese botany. During his long life of 1862-1957, he named more than 2500 plants among which were about 600 newly discovered species. He also went all over Japan when amateur plant lovers needed his professional advice, from identification to “how-to-organize plant searching volunteer groups.” He was a scholar, and so fought usual “academic politics” many times. He was both difficult and friendly. After his death people’s admiration for him has not waned. He’s a kind of hero in Japan. His fame remains in our community as well. He helped establish plant lovers’ associations in Kanagawa Prefecture. Do you remember uber publication, Flora of Kanagawa, by the Flora Kanagawa Association (my post on November 5, 2021)? That Association is receiving BIG help from Flora Yokohama Association that was first established in Yokohama in 1909 with the help of Dr. Makino. It was the first for such association in Japan. Especially in his early days as a scholar, Dr. Makino researched plants in Yokohama, and found many exotic species that were brought in probably from the vessels of foreign routes calling at the port of Yokohama. One of such species was Juncus tenuis Willd.

When Dr. Makino found Juncus tenuis Willd. in a forest near the present-day Yokohama Zoorasia, he thought Gotcha, and named the grass “Shirane-i” in Japanese. You see? The address for Zoorasia is (Kami-) Shirane township. Alas, he failed in the race of putting Japanese name of this weed. Jinzoh Matsumura 松村任三, Makino’s boss for Tokyo University and the first director for Koishikawa Botanical Gardens, anointed the grass “Kusai-i.” “Kusai-i” became the official Japanese name of Juncus tenuis Willd. Makino’s “Shirane-i” sometimes appears in an encyclopedia after “Kusai-i” entry, as “aka.” Dr. Makino, it seems to me, remembered the episode well. In 1947, he wrote a small essay in his magazine “Makino-shokubutsu Kon-kon-roku 牧野植物混混録” (; oh, dear …, how to translate this title … it’s like Makino’s Everything Plants Magazine …?). In it, he wrote when he discovered it in Yokohama, around 1900, it was fairly rare species, and so “I should be deserved for the honor of naming right!!!” is his opinion between the lines of essay. By 1947 the plant became ubiquitous all over Japan, he said. Then, more than 70 years later, what is happening for Juncus tenuis Willd. in the forests Dr. Makino found it and thought he was the first in Japan to recognize it? I did a little research.

The Juncus family loves to thrive near and/or in small streams. What’s happening for such environment around Zoorasia? A-hem, the majority for the flow of water near the Zoo is modified as culverts, or landscaped artificial flows accompanying underwater pipe acting as sewage. So far, I have not found a place where any weed of Juncus family thrives naturally near Zoorasia. The pervasive presence of Juncus tenuis Willd. Makino mentioned does not exist any more in the 21st century ... Makino is famous for his superb botanical paintings and his supreme making of specimen. I asked 3 museums that have specimen made by Dr. Makinos if they have Juncus tenuis. Makino Herbarium of Tokyo Metropolitan University does not have it. Nor Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden. Tokyo University has the specimen of Juncus tenuis Willd. made by Dr. Makino, but it was collected in the campus, not in Yokohama. His specimen for Juncus tenuis Willd. from the forests near Zoorasia had gone when Great Kanto Earthquake hit Kanto Region in 1923. There’s no back-up evidence of his findings of Juncus tenuis Willd. Only his murmurs about it remains.

Where is Juncus tenuis Willd.?

Heavily urbanized environment around Zoorasia, at least in terms of water management, makes the habitat drier. Instead of Juncus family, Cyperaceae family is expanding their territory. Just a casual look, I could find 3 species of Cyperaceae family in large colonies. One is tall flatsedge which is also of foreign origin, from South America to be exact. What would Dr. Makino have said for such changes for exotic species in the city of international port? I felt a bit comical Dr. Makino’s remarks about naming Juncus tenuis Willd. Exotic Juncus were everywhere in Japan once, but now only the mentioning of it by our superstar scholar remains. Alternatively, a new-comer is covering the territory they’ve found comfortable. Will they last, or go the same way Juncus did? There always is a rise and fall …

Cyperus microiria

Cyperus flavidus Retz.

Cyperus eragrostis

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/

Friday, October 20, 2023

On Toilet … A tale for this year’s Mt. Fuji

One of my friends lives on the shore of Lake Yamanakako 山中湖. She wakes up every morning and admires THE elegant shape of entire Mt. Fuji, if the weather is fine. As Mt. Fuji is a kind of neighbor for her household, during July 1st to the September 30th every year she regularly visits several times the top of it, the highest place of Japanese archipelago at ASL 3776m. She has experience there, and so never does an unplanned day-hike. She prepares in advance always. Normally, the reservations for an alpine lodge for the year are completed before the end of April. She then takes time to enjoy alone her beloved sunrise from the mountain top, by a slow and paced climb, avoiding altitude sickness.

During the COVID years, the lodges were closed. This year their business was resumed, and she were delighted to return her purely personal pleasure. She said her 2023 first visit was in early July, almost immediately after the start of mount climbing season. On that day Japanese meteorological agency predicted a typhoon may have come near to Honshu Island. She drove her car up to the parking area of the 5th Station, and asked mountain rangers about the situation. Oh, by the way, normally the parking at the 5th Station is open for private cars only for the first two weeks of July. The control remains until the end of August, then during September weekends the regulation resumes. I guess next year this traffic control would be stricter … Anyway! The rangers on that day stared the radar simulation in their PC, and said “Well, at least, not many people with enough grown-up caution have not tried go further from here today. You look having enough preparation, but we recommend you going home.” She decided to try at least to the lodge she reserved in the 8th Station. As she proceeded, the weather became more and more fine and pleasant. The trekking road that was normally crowded was so calm. She could figure out her fellow mountaineers before and after her with 100m or so distance away. “Naomi, that was superb. I relaxed so much!” She had a nice supper in the lodge on that day, slept quietly and well, woke up around 2:00 next morning, climbed slowly, and had a golden shower of rising sun at 3776m. “It was like the entire top of Mt. Fuji was reserved only for me! I never forget my lucky morning of my life.”

About a month later, she returned the mountain road of Mt. Fuji. That time was different. There were TONS of people, like a downtown shopping area. Fearing falling rocks tumbling down from above because of apparently “untrained” steps of visitors, she reached the lodge she reserved in the 8th Station. As before, she had a nice supper in a congested dining room, retired to her room, woke up at 2:00, and prepared to go up to the summit. She went to a toilet that was outside the accommodation quarter. “In any case, the entrance of the lodge itself was very strange that morning. There were so many scantily clad foreigners sleeping on the floor without enough cover. It was like a refugee camp where the outside temperature was about 3°C. I went outside to the toilet compound where many another foreigners huddled around trying to have some rest. I reached one unit, and opened the door. Guess what? A foreigner slept on the toilet bowl! That person noticed me visiting the place for the thing the place was designed to do. The foreigner hurriedly went outside of the unit, murmuring something half asleep. I finished my thing to do there, went out, and that person had waited for my coming out. Yuuuuuck! The tourist said something in some language with awkward smile and went back inside the toilet! I felt so uneasy and decided not to visit the top on that day. I returned to my reserved bed, slept till 7:00 and went down to the 5th Station. It was a horrible experience!”

This summer, such things became a social issue for Mt. Fuji, a World Cultural Heritage Site registered by UNESCO in 2013. I guess some of casual overseas visitors to Japan who never intended to visit again may not have bothered much about the manners, or at least the common sense of locals. But with a little thought, it won’t be difficult to guess visiting ASL 3776m without shopping center is not the same as drinking cappuccino during summer holidays in an airport. Unless your body is well-accustomed to higher altitude, sleeping in a dead-cold toilet with damned tired body covered by T-shirt and short pants could be a cause of your demise. This year, rescue squads for Mt. Fuji were so busy, especially for the officers with foreign language skills. Currently, the national and local governments for Mt. Fuji are planning to charge high enough entrance fee for climbing Mt. Fuji during 2024 season. I hope it is not too late, before a disaster comes on our precious Mt. Fuji.

Please stair the horizon. Right from the middle ...

Oh, and I imagine you guys reading this blog know it well, but … just in case, I tell you this. Climbing Mt. Fuji is “allowed” only from July 1st to September 30th every year. Yeah, there’s no law to stop you trying it. But,

Mt. Fuji is an independent peak near ASL 4000m where during winter, I mean from October to June, cold winds from Siberia blows through without anything to obstruct.
Besides, it’s an active stratovolcano at 35° north latitude whose last eruption was in 1707, just yesterday for vegetation unable to cover the slope.
So, snow that starts to pile up on a smooth slope during late September to the 1st week of October quickly becomes Ice Bahn. Even for those regulars of Mt. Everest have a difficult time to maneuver their crampons, ice axe, etc. during the winter of Mt. Fuji.
Consequently, all the businesses, like mountain lodges, emergency clinics, Sengen-taisha Okumiya Shrine 浅間大社奥宮, and even the weather observation station of Japanese Meteorological Agency are closed for humans. (Now the weather measurement station at the peak of Mt. Fuji is operated only by robots during winter).
All of these means winter Mt. Fuji is covered entirely with extremely hard ice slope which is easy to slip down even for the top pros. Or, albeit you don’t fall down, but are exhausted in a frozen and steep mountain road, calling for a prompt rescue is uber-difficult. And for such a case, you’re asking incredibly dedicated mountain rescuers to risk their lives for a complete (and probably unwise) stranger.

At least we locals know such things. Those who die in Mt. Fuji during winter are real pros who gambled their life for their … dream, maybe. Casual visitors who came to the mountain in T-shirts and shot pants should not try such things. Safe walk in forest.

Friday, October 13, 2023

Still Dry: Mushrooms in Kanagawa’s Forest 2023

Every early autumn, we Kanagawa Forest Instructors do a small field study to learn mushrooms in Kanagawa’s forests. Several days ago, we’ve done that for 2023, and concluded “Gee. It’s a strange year.” Reason? We’ve found fewer than usual number of mushrooms, especially those sprouting from the ground. One senior Instructor said “Hmmmm … The soil is dry. Fungi cannot grow enough to develop lots of mushrooms …”

Rickenella fibula.
It’s a tiny mushroom cohabit with mosses.

Mushrooms are not plants, but fungus. The standard form of them is organism spreading in network structure, secreting digestive enzymes into whichever place of sufficient humidity they are weaving the net. They then absorb dissolved molecules that constructed their environment, such as soil, fallen trees and/or dead body of creatures from Animalia. When they “eat” enough to knit dense network, they form “mushrooms” in order to spread spores for procreation. i.e. Unless the web becomes large enough to push up mushrooms, their visible overground apparition is rare. Yeah, this week, the temperature has dropped finally in Kanagawa Prefecture. The lowest temperature is constantly below 20°C which is a benchmark we can expect sprouting mushrooms. Though, this summer, we had almost a draught, and fewer typhoons have come (; my post on July 28). The ground in the forest is still preserving dry fallen leaves of last year, and we can find only a few mushrooms on the ground.

Death Cap. Uber-poisonous, but cute mushroom

Finding mushrooms shoot up from the ground is fun, that’s for sure. Many of such mushrooms are mycorrhizal fungi that cohabit with the plants and exchange nutrition by weaving the hypha around plants’ roots. Mushrooms give broken-up molecules from soil or else, and plants give carbohydrate molecules created from photosynthesis. The presence of mycorrhizal fungi acts as an indicator if the forests are thriving. If mycorrhizal fungi are abundant, it means the health of trees surrounding the mushrooms are quite well as they are actively swapping food with the fungi. But if mushrooms of this type are found not much …

White coral fungus

Instead, we’ve met lots of mushrooms, saprophytic fungi, covering the fallen trees due to oak tree wilt. Lots of mushrooms on lots of logs would be one consequence of raging disease for trees (my posts on August 23, 2019 and September 6, 2019). “Well, we need to update our knowledge about mushrooms of Kanagawa Prefecture ... There are such varieties of saprophytic fungi …” That’s what one of the veteran forest instructors murmured on that day. In contrast to mycorrhizal fungi, saprophytic fungi get their nutrition purely from their decomposing ability. Especially one of those festering fallen trees called white-rot fungus have enzyme that can dissolve lignin. Lignin is the thing to make trees stand high from the ground. The staff is uber hard and robust. If humans want to decompose lignin, we need many kinds of chemicals, long-long hours, and global-warming energy consumption to maintain the machines in lab. Saprophytic fungi do it naturally as their way of eating meal. It’s a superpower. It seems to me scientists are studying for utilizing fungi ability to make cost-effective method of biochemical pulping, etc. Hmmm, they have practical utility for human life then …

Microporus affinis (Blume & T. Nees) Kuntze,
saprophytic fungi

Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (Jacq.) Fr., ditto!

Hypoxylon truncatum & Chicken of the Woods.
The log they attached is turning the color white,
which means these fungi is saprophytic.

Even before becoming handy for producing industrial paper, saprophytic fungi really cleanup the dead bodies of plants and return the disbanded molecules to the soil. It will make the forest of nutritious ground and so to last. Yeah, it’s very important scenery of sustained biodiversity when we encounter such fungi is in action on the dead trees by oak tree wilt … Though, if it is numerous found in a forest, it’s an uneasy vista. To begin with the die-out of oak family in Kanagawa’s forests is due to long-term neglect of forest for tens of years (my posts on August 23, 2019 and September 6, 2019). Fungi is cleaning up the mess we’ve created. … Sorry, forests. If there are spirits in forests and mountains, will they accept our apology in deference to hard-working saprophytic fungi?

They are wild oyster mushrooms on the dead sawtooth oak.
This tasty fungi is also saprophytic.

Speaking fungi that dramatically reduced its number in Kanagawa Prefecture, there is Rhizopogon roseolus, Shoro 松露 in Japanese, of Basidiomycetes phylum. It is mycorrhizal fungi surviving with pines. Its way of mushroom apparition is similar to Tuber of Ascomycota phylum, but in terms of evolutionary family tree, the difference between shoro and tuber is like octopus and homo sapience. Anyway, this mushroom was once so easy to find along Shonan Beach 湘南海岸. Until about 150 years ago, Tokaido 東海道, the former form of Route 1, connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto, ran along the Beach lined with well-tended street trees of black pines. Shoro came out around the roots of such pines. The mushroom is known to be delicious for centuries. It goes well with omelet, pilaf, grill, stir fry, etc. Those merchants along Tokaido of Shonan Beach knew this of course, and served food with Shoro in cafés along the busy artery road. One of their culinary creations was SWEET, which was probably one and the only of such things in Japan. Yep, they made sweet bean jelly mixed with candid (YES!) Shoro mushrooms 松露羊羹. It was a specialty the travelers of yester-centuries looked forward enjoying on Shonan Beach. There were many cafés dished up the treat with nice green tea … Those were the days. Such beautifully lined pines are gone, and the road along Shonan Beach is enjoyed by beachgoers with thunderous and smelling exhaust of gasoline from cars and motorbikes. Meeting with mushroom down there is REALLY rare. But don’t despair. There is one remaining sweet shop in Fujisawa City, selling bean jelly with shoro. It is Fujisawa Toshimaya-honten 藤沢豊島屋本店 (; address 1-3-28 Honcho, Fujisawa City藤沢市本町1-3-28, phone 0466-22-2046).

Toshimaya-honten in Fujisawa City

I’ve been there and got one jelly; 972 yen for roughly 200g. I served it among Forest Instructors with a lengthy explanation and historical importance of such things in Kanagawa Prefecture. Look! We need to remember such tradition of loving natural bounty, blah-blah-blah. One very calm senior Instructor said, “Er, well, Naomi, but it tastes simply as sweet been jelly. Yes, it is good as a jelly, but where is the taste of mushroom!?” … True. I asked the matron of the sweet shop if they sell candid shoro mushroom. She smiled and said “These days, it’s so difficult to obtain the mushroom, and if you pay 100,000 yen for 100g of candid mushroom, we may think to sell the ingredient. In any case, the bean jelly has so small amount of mushroom. I’m sorry (and gentle smile again).” Here is a lesson to be learned about the mushrooms of Kanagawa. Be strong, mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi in Kanagawa’s forest now!

Red Bean Jelly from Toshimaya-honten.
As red bean jelly, it’s delicious …
taste of mushrooms? Er, nope.

Clavulinopsis pulchra
or
Neolecta irregularis (Peck) Korf & J.K. Rogers.
To make it sure which,
we have to check spores in microscope.

Friday, October 6, 2023

We Eat! Vegetarian life in forests

It’s October, but in 2023 the temperature is definitely higher than the average years for Kanagawa Prefecture. The scenery in the forest still looks like the end of summer. Probably, it’s not all bad. For those creatures living and growing in the forests, like caterpillars et al, a long summer means longer availability of meals, i.e. leaves ... er not only that maybe mosquitos and blood suckers in forests are still active, all right ... But today, I want to tell you my observation about the leaves-eating of worms and the like. I’m a sort of impressed with the variety of table manners they show on lots of lots of leaves in forest!

Exhibit 1: Caterpillar for Dark Evening Brown (Melantis phedima)

The adult butterfly of this species become active in late autumn in relatively dark broad-leaved forests near human settlement. So, their baby must be ready around this time to pupate, and we can meet the caterpillar in mid-summer. I noticed these days the baby of Dark Evening Brown is getting popularity as “Oh, you know, they look so cute!” If you try to find them, walk forest during mid-summer and find grasses on the border between the forest and grass land or road. If the sward-like leaves are eaten here and there, look the other side of them, and we may be able to meet a darling caterpillar of Dark Evening Brown. They’re pasted on the other side of leaves, against the law of gravity, and munching such sharp edges of Poaceae. Their round small head with pointed antennae are really cute!

Here!

A cocoon of Japanese Giant Silkworm

Exhibit 2: Japanese Giant Silkworm (Caligula japonica)

Basically, their babies are not picky but opportunists eating leaves of oaks, sweetgums, etc. that can often be used for street trees. I’ve also found their possible table manners on leaves of laurels. Hmmmm, yeah, the laurels smell nice and appetizing …

Still very young Japanese cinnamon,
an endemic species in Japanese forest.
The leaves of them are eaten …
maybe by Giant Silkworms, or deer.

Exhibit 3: Acropteris iphiata

In this photo, it’s resting on an eaten leave of … I don’t know. Anyway, its caterpillars are munching poisonous Euporbia, Apocynaceae, Daphniphyllaceae, etc. that are commonly found in Yokohama’s forest. They eat such things to arm themselves with toxin and fend off predators. Wow.

Exhibit 4: Family of Cucurbit leaf beetles

Yeah, they are enemies of veggie farmers. But in Yokohama and Kanagawa’s forests, there are many other non-cashable cucurbits, like Trichosanthes cucumeroides of this photo (; my post on September 10, 2020). It seems to me depending on the species, their table manners are different. Some Aulacophora nigripennis of this family first “write” a circle on a leaf, then eat inside the demarcation completely. The eaten leaves become like an installation of Yayoi Kusama. For these leaves of the photo, I think the eater is some other cucurbit leave beetle … whose aesthetics inclines more to oval, not circle …

Cucurbit leaf beetles or not,
Trichosanthes cucumeroides started
to have colors now.

Exhibit 5: Family of Twirler Moss

This photo is an eaten leaf of Solanum lyratum, a plant of Solanaceae. Caterpillars of twirler moss love to munch leaves of Solanaceae family, which is a hated habit by veggie farmers. Anyway, the baby of a moss must be very hungry …

Exhibit 6: Everybody loves Urticaceae family.

… Boehmeria japonica is attacked. It seems to me the leaves are loved by kids and adults of many insects. Not only the regular longhorn beetles, but also babies of large moss like Ramie caterpillar, or butterflies. Indian Red admirals eat them as they like. I guess the kids first ate soft tissues between the leaf veins, then decided to devour the hard parts as well … It’s the beginning of fall and they felt their time for meal is limited …

Exhibit 7: And Legumes are also popular.

Come to think of it, we humans eat legumes a lot as they are tasty and good for our health. So do the insects. The leaves of legumes are rich in plant-based protein and energy. The bugs, including large locusts and beetles, love them. This is a sorry state of kudzu, an alien invasive species for Americans. We cannot blame these insects while we eat Tofu …

The table manner of eater here is a kind of “orderly”
… start eating from the edge.

Exhibit 8: Artemissin, no matter

It’s Pertya robusta, of Asteraceae family. I don’t know if it has artemisinin in its body, but Asteraceae is also loved by some species, like cabbage moth.

Collecting photos of eaten leaves, I realized once again plants are really serving as food for many animals. Yap, those eaten leaves may look unsightly, but could be evidence the forest is living in a nexus of creatures … Er, formal talk aside, it’s fun intentionally searching for eaten leaves in forest. Please try, if you like. It’s a continuous art gallery installed by numerous bugs and the others in nature!