Okay. So this post took a little longer than I initially expected for a few reasons.The main reason being that I didn't have internet here the first couple of weeks and I couldn't find any field guides for the area, so I couldn't properly research this topic. So my first few weeks out here, I tried my best to explore my neighborhood and comment on what I saw. To my surprise, what I mainly saw in the area besides cherry blossoms were plants that looked very much like plants native to the Pacific Northwest. As a result, species I found in my earlier observations were in the genus Thuja, Rhododendron, Prunus, Pinus, Lupinus, Tulipa etc.
| Intrigued by this observation, I went to school and started doing some exploring around campus. I was pleased to discover plaques displaying the names of native species in Latin, common and Japanese. Many plants I observed were very similar to what I might find at home (both cultivated and wild growing). For example, I came across a Rhododendron bush and said " That belongs to the genus Rhododendron, but I know it`s not Rhododendron rhododendron. Something about it just seems different." It was observations like this that were driving me crazy! I needed a field guide fast. | |
Fortunately, I was able to borrow two field guides on wild flowers in Japan from one of my teachers that Friday. The books are in Japanese but fortunately they also have a lot of good pictures that will enable me to at least key Genus. Translating the field guides will be challenging, but benifitial to both my understanding of Japan`s flora, and Japanese scientific jargon.
I had initially expected Japan`s flora to be extremely different from my home, since the ecosystems are on an island that was apart of the Asian mainland and not the Americas (click here to see the formation of Japan).Instead the species I found were very reminisant of what I might find at home, with subtle differences.I`ve been doing my best to log the species I find here on a website called iNaturalist. If you click on the button bellow, you`ll be able to see all the species I`ve been observing. I still have a lot to learn about these new ecosystems, so this won`t be the last you`ll here about it.
～また ：D
I had initially expected Japan`s flora to be extremely different from my home, since the ecosystems are on an island that was apart of the Asian mainland and not the Americas (click here to see the formation of Japan).Instead the species I found were very reminisant of what I might find at home, with subtle differences.I`ve been doing my best to log the species I find here on a website called iNaturalist. If you click on the button bellow, you`ll be able to see all the species I`ve been observing. I still have a lot to learn about these new ecosystems, so this won`t be the last you`ll here about it.
～また ：D
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