Japan seed collecting trip - target plants and collecting equipment
Westonbirt Arboretum’s Director, Simon Toomer, and Superintendent, Mark Ballard, are currently in Japan for two weeks to collect seed from the wild. The trip will help to develop Westonbirt’s tree collection with more diverse species of maples and other trees from this temperate climate. The team wish to thank the private donor with a passion for plants and science who has funded this trip.
Before setting out on the trip, Simon and Mark put together a 'target list' of the top priority plants that they are aiming to collect seed from whilst in Japan. This list comprises 63 target plants, including 17 species of Acer and 35 other genera of plants including Euonymus, Fagus, Magnolia, Stewartia and Tilia.
They also put together a list of collecting materials and equipment, including some key equipment for collecting the seed:
1. Hessian or muslin bags
2. Plastic sandwich bags
3. Tyvek bags
4. Bin Liners
5. Self adhesive address labels
6. Labels
7. Indelible marker pens
8. Herbarium press & kit
9. Pruning equipment
10. Collecting buckets
Of course, there is also equipment for recording the trees, ranging from an A4 manuscript book (and wet weather protection for this!) to a laptop, as well as plant identification books - even our experts like to be sure they've got the right tree!
Some parts of the kit list paint a picture of a very traditional 'plant hunter', with gloves, gaiters and binoculars all playing a part. But mobile phones, GPS (and AA batteries!) and plant collecting permits also feature as modern elements of this plant hunting expedition.
For those who want full details of the top priority plants that Mark and Simon are looking for the list is below. We'll have to wait until they return to find out how successful they were in finding all of these!
| Genus | Species | |
| Acer | carpinifolium | |
| Acer | caudatum | subsp. ukurunduense |
| Acer | diabolicum | |
| Acer | distylum | |
| Acer | miyabei | |
| Acer | miyabei | var. shibatai |
| Acer | oblongum | |
| Acer | pictum | |
| Acer | pictum | subsp. taishakuense |
| Acer | pictum | var. ambiguum |
| Acer | pictum | var. connivens |
| Acer | pictum | var. marmoratum f. dissectum |
| Acer | pictum | var. trichobasis |
| Acer | pycnanthum | |
| Acer | shirasawanum | |
| Acer | tschonoskii | |
| Acer | oblongum | var. itoanum |
| Alnus | hirsuta | |
| Aphananthe | aspera | |
| Broussonetia | kazinoki | |
| Castanopsis | sieboldii | |
| Cinnamomum | japonicum | |
| Cladrastis | platycarpa | |
| Clethra | barbinervis | |
| Diospyros | japonica | |
| Diospyros | kaki | |
| Disanthus | cercidifolius | |
| Edgeworthia | chrysantha | |
| Euonymus | melananthus | |
| Euonymus | oxyphyllus | |
| Fagus | crenata | |
| Fagus | japonica | |
| Fraxinus | apertisquamifera | |
| Fraxinus | insularis | |
| Helwingia | japonica | |
| Juglans | mandschurica | var. sachalinensis |
| Kalopanax | pictus | |
| Lagerstromia | fauriei | |
| Lindera | sericea | var. glabrata |
| Magnolia | salicifolia | |
| Magnolia | stellata | |
| Mallotus | japonicus | |
| Neolitsea | sericea | |
| Ostrya | japonica | |
| Platycarya | strobilacea | |
| Populus | maximowiczii / sieboldii | |
| Prunus | sargentii | |
| Pseudotsuga | japonica | |
| Quercus | phillyraeoides | |
| Rhus | verniciflua | |
| Sapium | japonicum | |
| Sciadopitys | verticillata | |
| Stewartia | monadelpha | |
| Stewartia | pseudocamellia | |
| Stewartia | serrata | |
| Styrax | shiraianum | |
| Thuja | standishii | |
| Tilia | japonica | |
| Tilia | kiusiana | |
| Tilia | mandschurica | |
| Tilia | maximowicziana | |
| Tilia | rufo-villosa | |
| Torreya | nucifera |
