Baby Boar’s Hands: Polystichum polyblepharum in Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森

 

Spring is coming. Winter buds are unfurling even under occasional snow showers. Plum flowers are already falling. We must be ready for cherry blossoms in a couple of weeks. Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森 is not an exception. We Lovers are finding lots of frog eggs in ponds. “Don’t you think it’s a bit earlier than usual?” “Yeah.” “And I’ve found not only the eggs of Montane brown frogs (my post on March 31, 2023). There are lots of eggs for toads.” “Me too!” Surely, spring is coming. Another light-hearted news. Polystichum polyblepharum is back. Let me explain.

Many kinds of eggs

These days we have been worrying the health of a part of Niiharu Forest where ferns are covering the ground beneath the afforested cedars. When the spot was a private property years ago, the landlord planted lots of Japanese cedars which loved humid environment like here in a valley along small stream from springs. Inevitably, the place was also favored by ferns, especially humidity enjoying Polystichum polyblepharum. Then, after Typhoon Hagibis in 2019 when lots of cedars there were damaged, we noticed apparent decline in the colony of Polystichum polyblepharum. “Hmmmmm … in any case, we had to deal with the broken and fallen cedars. So, our intervention was inevitable.” “The level of humidity has been continuously declining in the slope of the hill for decades as the other side was completely developed for housing, right? The underground water vein was already damaged by concreated roads and housings.” “Even though, was it a right thing for us removing the fallen trees which would increase the direct sunshine coming into the valley?” The discussion is continuing …

The power of typhoon …

Yet, in 2020 6 months later of the typhoon 
Polystichum polyblepharum was yet standing …

Instead of Polystichum polyblepharum, another ferns like Arachniodes standishii that is more tolerant of drier environment began overtaking the space of Polystichum polyblepharum. Yeah, this fern is also beautiful, but I would say, its mysteriousness is a touch short of the atmosphere Polystichum polyblepharum creates. Last year, there came another theory. “Maybe, Polystichum polyblepharum is sick.” “Meaning?” “At least we have not found massive attack by caterpillars of sawflies, or leaf beetles.” “Or, they are infected by some virus (; yup, we’re in the post-COVID era) that causes the decline of the species.” “Like?” “Brown spots.” “Hmmmmmmm …” “Have you found leaves of Polystichum polyblepharum that are affected by brown spots for sure?” “Er …” We were wondering what was happening there, and if there was something we can do for that.

A year later, in 2021, from the above photo.
Could you feel a change?

And in 2022.
Don’t you think the scenery looks scarce of something?

Then, this year we’ve found in the valley lots of buds of Polystichum polyblepharum! Polystichum polyblepharum has Japanese name “Inode 猪手“ which means “Boar’s Hand.” It is said that for ancient people the buds of Polystichum polyblepharum looked like boar’s hand (foot?), and so they called the fern Inode. Early March this year we could find lots of cute boar’s hands here and there. Hurrah! “Oh, I’m so relieved to see them now!” “Last snowfall let the boughs of cedars falling on the boar’s hands. Let us clean up and help the baby to grow easily.” “Yup!” We did a little bit of cleaning over the head of the buds of Polystichum polyblepharum. Maybe, their previous ones were old enough to show apparent decline. Now, they are recovering with seedlings. I’m not sure if the kids of Polystichum polyblepharum can grow up beautiful adults. If our speculation on the changes in water vein is apt, they may have difficulty in survival. Yet still … I’m keep crossing my fingers for our concern being needless anxiety because due to human short temper, not out of the calm flow of forest time … Cherry blossoms are coming!

A baby is born!

Lots of babies!

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau
横浜市環境創造局

Phone: 045-311-2016
FAX: 045-316-8420

Beautiful Lilies: Lilies are in full bloom now in Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森

 

Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森 has several chestnut orchards. As the place was a productive farmland especially before World War II, those chestnut fields have/had owners. The largest orchard of chestnuts is now the property of the City of Yokohama. It is on the north-facing slope when we enter the forest at B-2 point. At the foot of the orchard, there is a large signboard and a map of the forest with C-1 designation. It’s a sort of a main gate for Niiharu Citizen Forest. The chestnuts are on the left slope there. I guess some of you have already been there several times. The previous owner of the orchard, an old lady, still lives (a sort of) in front of the place. Why do you ask they transferred the ownership to the municipality? Ah-hem, there is a typically Japanese it-is-cheaper-to-pay-tax-by-land-story, mate. This north-facing and steep slope is loved by Golden-rayed lilies. When they appear in summer, the old lady who previously owned the place has enjoyed beautiful white flowers in her orchard since her younger days. The condition when she passed on the ownership to the city was, “Please keep the lilies.”

There. The chestnut field, 2023.

The place had suffered serious damage by the typhoons of 2019. In any case, the chestnuts were already very old trees. So, it would be an inevitable thing for ancient trees to be knocked down by super typhoons … The lady lamented the sorry scenery of her former property, a lot. The City decided to semi-clear the place and afforest it with maple trees or the like. I mean, not all the chestnuts are removed, but many would be discarded to make space for another trees. The Lovers have engaged in the project for these 4 years. We removed fell-down trees from the slope, thinned overgrown Quercus myrsinifolia around the orchard to let sunshine in to help seedlings that would be planted later. We also do regular raking to remove mowed grasses, leaves, burs from the ground. The work continues now.

In spring 2022, the orchard looked like this.
We cleared a lot of this place to reach this level.

Before the typhoon, the Lovers of Niiharu did … slightly cutting corners for the maintenance of the orchard. Yeah, we mowed mechanically twice a year the place, otherwise the orchard would have been covered completely by grasses and western bracken ferns. That was an obstacle to collecting chestnuts. We wanted to harvest the nuts. So, we ran our mowing machine mainly around the chestnut tree. Another reason of our “light-touch” for the place was Golden-rayed lilies. When the grass grows tall in summer, it is very difficult to mow mechanically without damaging the lilies sprouting out of the mass of grass. Lovers’ works unconsciously avoid in-between space of the chestnut trees where lilies would call for home. I don’t know how long such an approach continued after the land became the property of the City. When I joined the Lovers Association, the seniors already talked like “Hey, the number of lilies in the orchard is getting smaller, don’t you think?” The lady living in front of the orchard also complained. “Are you doing the proper care?” The Lovers murmured “Of course, we’re doing our best. But twice yearly mechanical mowing for such a large place is the max we can do with a limited number of hands!”

Er … before, it was like this.

Then the super-typhoons came and the landlord City decided to do a large intervention. Lovers mowing has changed. Before, we left the cut grasses and ferns there after mowing. It did help the new growth of grasses suppressed. It also prevented more lilies from coming to flower. Now I recall the words of Mr. Katsuyama for Hakone Sengokubara National Treasure Site 国天然記念物箱根仙石原 this spring (my post on May 12): when we want to have lots of herbaceous plants to flower, we must sweep the place and remove the mowed grasses. It worked OK for a limited man-power Lovers could provide for the maintenance of the place. New approach the City employing for the place is “Please keep the place neat, and ready for professional landscapers to come.” Er, OK. So, Lovers began raking the cut grasses et al in the orchard, and moving it as much as possible for the garbage collection of the city. It was, I tell you, heavy work.

Chestnut orchard, Niiharu, 2022

For one thing, the orchard spreads over a very steep slope. Removing cut grasses is practically dropping large masses of cut grasses down the hill. If it fell smoothly, Harasho. Otherwise, we keep our body steady over the almost cliff-like slope with our muscle power and sweep the grass-mass pushing down to the foot of the hill. The debris of left-over mowed grasses for the previous years had not decayed as we expected. It was piled high and heavy … In the process, we hand-mowed the area around the lilies, and removed the cut grasses carefully. Once the field is raked, the new growth of herbaceous plants, being it a grass or lilies, becomes more vigorous so the mowing and raking is continued. At least the remains of previous years are smaller now … Then, our endeavor started to pay off since last year or so.

Naomi mowed around here!

Although there remain damaged chestnut trees here and there, the number of flowers we can enjoy are getting larger and larger in the place. Last year visitors started to notice the old chestnut orchard is becoming a large flower field for Golden-rayed lilies and the others. The City has begun asking the Lovers to take care of the lilies more. This year since last week the place has impressive number of large Gloden-rayed lilies in full bloom. I guess this weekend is the last for the peak of 2023. Once you’re approaching C-1 point, the atmosphere of the area is completely dominated by the fragrance of noble lilies. It’s spectacular, and we Lovers are proud of our work. If you have any chance to visit Niiharu Citizen Forest this weekend, please don’t miss the once in a year natural pageant of the Forest!

Last week for Golden-rayed lilies in the chestnut orchard.
Could you see there are more buds?
They’ll bloom this week!

A week before the above photo,
the place was for Orange Daylily.

Patrinia scabiosifolia is also getting strong these days near Niiharu.
They say it’s rare to find them in Yokohama now.
By the way, they are the flowers of autumn
in Japanese Haiku poetry.
Season is changing …

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau
横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-311-2016 

FAX: 045-316-8420