The previous Flora
Wonder Blog, Sons of Veitches, Part 1, discussed the English
Nursery firm of Veitch and Sons, and in particular its publication in
1881, A Manual of Coniferae. The company was founded by
Scotsman John Veitch (1752-1832) and reached prominence in Europe
which lasted into the 20th century...until it was largely
undone by the consequences of the Great War (WWI). The Manual's
purpose was to educate the gardening public about the history of
conifer introductions, as well as a guide to their classifications
and uses, both for commercial and for aesthetic applications. It also
served as a boast from the company at the forefront of horticulture,
that Veitch Nursery was in a position to produce a comprehensive
manual that dispensed horticultural experience and knowledge to
accompany their exotic plants.
 |
| John Gould Veitch |
I left off from the
previous F.W. Blog with plant portraits, where I compared the Veitch
perspective in 1881 with my own as a wholesale nurseryman a century
later. But before I continue with more of that I wish to champion one
of the company's great “travelers,” John Gould Veitch, the great
grandson of the founder of the horticulture dynasty. He was a “pretty
boy” at first appearance, despite his prodigious, wooly sideburns,
but he displayed his mettle and proved his value to horticulture with
the introduction of numerous species that he collected at the
front-lines of hardship...namely in Japan, the Philippines,
Australia, Fiji and other islands. J.G. and other Veitch collectors
(“travelers”) introduced to horticulture 232 orchids, 118
ferns, 50 conifers, 153 deciduous trees and much more. I didn't want
to imply that J.G. was a physical wimp (no matter how I judged his
looks) because he and Rutherford Alcock climbed the sacred Mount Fuji
in heavy rain. At the summit they behaved typically British by
raising the Union Jack on a make-shift pole, firing a twenty-one gun
salute; and as Sue Shephard puts it in her Seeds of Dynasty,
they drank “to the health of Her Most Gracious Majesty and
shouting 'God Save the Queen.' Then they descended in a 'thick Scotch
mist.'” After J.G. returned to England he married Jane Hodge
and fathered two sons, but sadly he died of tuberculosis at the age
of 31.
 |
| Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' |
 |
| Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' |
On the Fuji-san
trip J.G. Veitch discovered a new variety of the Japanese sugi,
Cryptomeria japonica var. elegans, which we now know as the cultivar
'Elegans' or Elegans Group. I bring up that plant as an example where
the early collectors were actually introducing selected
Japanese forms, varieties or cultivars. Philipp von Siebold, after
all, is credited with introducing the Japanese selection, Acer
japonicum var. aureum – later to be reclassified as A. shirasawanum
'Aureum'. J.G. greatly admired the refined skill the Japanese
exhibited in horticulture, and their gardens and temples featured
conifers, maples, azaleas and magnolias, perhaps with a waterfall and
rockwork blended in. Tastefully natural, without the garden-formality
popular in Europe at the time. According to Shephard, “Plants
were brought from many parts of the country and high prices were
often paid for rare specimens.” Veitch and the other collectors
had no qualms about collecting from the fruits of Japanese labor and
creativity, then receiving credit and making profit back home for
their “introductions.”
 |
| Pinus densiflora |
 |
| Pinus densiflora |
Of the fifty-some
conifers that Veitch Nursery introduced to Europe, Pinus densiflora,
the “red-bark pine,” was an important species for horticulture,
and Buchholz Nursery has long been growing some of the dwarf
varieties. The specific epithet means “densely-flowered,” and
though the pine does not produce real “flowers” in the botanical
sense, a mature specimen will be packed with numerous small cones. In
Veitch's A Manual of Conifers, mention is made about the
“needle count” per each species. No, not the total number
of needles that grow on a particular tree, rather the number of
needles per fascicle, the sheath bundle that's attached to the
woody stem. On page 141 of the Manual we read, “The Pines
include more species [world-wide] than any other genus in the Order,
and are distributed over a greater geographical area. The
Pines admit a division into three Sections, according to the number
of leaves in a sheath, thus –
“1. Binae,
with two leaves in each sheath” [as in P. densiflora].
“2. Ternae,
with three leaves in each sheath” [as in P. bungeana].
“3. Quinae,
with five leaves in each sheath” [as in P. parviflora].
“We [Veitch]
adopt this Sectional Division on account of its obvious simplicity,
and as being that most available for practical uses. The true
affinities of the Pines will be sought for in the fruitification, to
which the number of leaves in a sheath can only be regarded as a
subordinate character.”
 |
| Ginkgo biloba |
 |
| Ginkgo biloba |
I was curious how
Veitch would describe Ginkgo biloba, so I was reassured that they
correctly included it into the Manual of Coniferae. I consider
that quite an astute observation for 1881, especially since
whenever I mention Ginkgo being a member of the Coniferae to my
modern plant friends, they usually look at me like I've totally lost
my senses. Even the Manual feels the need to explain: “So
greatly does the Maiden-Hair Tree differ from all other coniferous
trees, that its affinity to them would scarcely be suspected on
superficial inspection.” In 1881 Veitch considered Ginkgo to be
a Taxad, i.e. a member of the Taxaceae family, though
quite different. Veitch concludes: “An examination of the
flowers, and especially of the fruit, and comparing them with the
same parts of the common yew, will show, however, that the Ginkgo
belongs to the same tribe, although an isolated member of it.”
When put that way the affinity seem logical to this simple
nurseryman, but today, of course, Ginkgo is placed in its own
Ginkgoaceae family.
 |
| Ginkgo biloba |
 |
| Ginkgo biloba |
 |
| Ginkgo biloba |
A factual lapse
occurs in the Manual where Ginkgo is said to be the
Chinese name, meaning “deciduous.” My Japanese wife's brow
furrowed and a guttural scoff followed. “Who says so?!” –
she demanded. I answered, “Veitch,” which meant nothing to
her, but then she wasn't aware that Veitch has been primary on my
mind for the past week or so. She took the error personally, I think,
especially since a ginkgo leaf is the official city emblem of her
home-town, Tokyo. The monotypic genus was first described to the West
by Engelbert Kaempfer in his book Amoenitatum Exoticarum, but
he misspelled the name. The Japanese pronunciation “gin kyo,”
meaning “silver apricot,” is found in Chinese herbology
literature, which verifies the original name meaning. Veitch is
correct when he speculated that the Japanese common name of ginkgo is
itcho, but too bad that J.G. and the other Sons were not privy
to some of the plant-name assignments I delegate to my Japanese wife.
Haruko reports that ginkgo became a food commodity in the 14th
century, and was traded on the market as if money. It can also be
spelled Ichou; and with its origin from China it means
“Duck-Foot tree.”
 |
| Ginkgo fossil from North Dakota, Age 64 million years |
Veitch defers to
Louden in the
Manual, adopting the claim of a “
Northern
China” ginkgo habitat, but no evidence or explanation is given.
I won't delve into more modern research into any “
wild-state”
origin for ginkgo at this time, but I'm confident that the facts will
prevail at some point, probably in the near future. The Ginkgo genus
has existed on Earth in the form of various species for approximately
250 million years, but I feel that we are just beginning to document
its full story, and I wish I could be around for the conclusion.
 |
| Big-Leaf Ginkgo from Buchholz Nursery |
 |
| Ginkgo biloba 'Majestic Butterfly' |
The Veitch
Manual (1881) mentions a Ginkgo biloba var. macrophylla,
and the 1900 2nd edition repeats the claim, but I've never
seen it reported since or elsewhere. Veitch speculates that var.
macrophylla “has much larger leaves than the type...often
measuring from 5 to 6 inches across.” The edges of the nerves
of the big-leaf form were supposedly “more jagged, and radiated
from the petiole more prominently than in the species.”
Supposedly, “This fine variety originated at Avignon, in France,
about the year 1850.” I have also witnessed huge gingko leaves,
even more than “5-to-6 inches across,” for example on suckering
rootstock when the scion-top has been cut off, so maybe the
Avignonians were describing such an occurrence. Also interesting is
that the Manual, 2nd edition (19 years later)
presents two cultivars (or varieties): 1) pendula with “more
or less pendulous branches” and 2) variegata, with
leaves blotched and streaked with pale yellow.” Veitch
dismisses both, “where the weeping habit of the pendula adds
nothing to the beauty of the normal form, but rather detracts from
it,” and with variegata having “indistinct
colouring.” In my career I have seen spectacularly variegated
Ginkgo selections, except that they are not permanently stable (for
me). Also I have seen and have dabbled with a few “arching”
forms, but I have never encountered a strictly weeping selection,
such as we have for Acer palmatum 'Golden Falls', Fagus sylvatica
'Purpurea Pendula' and many others.
 |
| Abies bracteata |
 |
| Abies bracteata |
 |
| Abies bracteata |
The Veitch Manual
gives considerable attention to Abies bracteata, the American
“Bristle-Cone fir,” and the text reads: “Abies bracteata is
one of the most remarkable of the Californian Silver Firs.”
Added gravitas is supplied by Sir William Hooker who wrote in 1853,
shortly after the species introduction in England: “The present
subject is among the most remarkable of all the true Pines,
particularly in the nature of its cones. Dr. Coulter first discovered
it on the Andes of Santa Lucia, a mountain range running parallel to
the coast. [David] Douglas met with it at 6,000 feet of elevation...*
These botanists [Coulter and Douglas] both failed to bring home
perfect seeds, and it was left for William Lobb, Messrs. Veitch's
indefatigable American collector** to succeed in this.” In
Hortus Veitchii, published later in 1906, Hooker continued:
“Perhaps the introduction of no Conifer, not even that of the
Deodar, has excited a more lively interest in horticulture and
arboriculture than that of the present species with its porcupine
fruits.” A full page drawing of a specimen growing at Tortworth
Court appears on page 91, and Veitch lists it at 29 feet tall in
1881, and on the next page is a drawing of the cone itself, “natural
size,” with a hundred-or-so upward curving bristles. The drawing is
somewhat fanciful, for I've never seen a cone with such numerous and
perfectly arranged bracts, but I can accept it because in reality the
cone is more amazing when examined in hand than the artist's
depiction of it. Lobb speaks for himself: “This beautiful and
singular tree forms here (he writes from the Californian forests) the
most conspicuous ornament of the arborescent vegetation...the cones
are quite as singular as the growth of the tree is beautiful...When
fully developed, the scales, as well as the long leaf-like bracts,
are covered with globules of thin transparent resin, presenting to
the eye a curious and striking object.” My wife Haruko
attempted to preserve a cone for me by baking and varnishing it –
instructions are available on the internet. It sat intact on a shelf
for a decade where I enjoyed its weirdness, but when it came time to
move it from the Flora Farm house to our new home it fell apart in my
hand, but thanks for the memories.
*In George
Gordon's “synopsis of all the coniferous plants at present
known...,” called The Pinetum, published in
London in 1858, he claims that it was first discovered by David
Douglas on the “mountains along the Columbia River.” Of course,
it was not. Afterwards, Gordon claims, it was seen by Dr. Coulter and
Hartweg in the Santa Lucia Mountains—it was.
Imagine my
surprise when the spring 2006 publication of American
Forests, in an issue describing “champion trees”--and
promoting the discovery of new champions—claimed that the
Bristlecone Fir could be found in Oregon, as well as Colorado and
Idaho! If I thought I could see Abies bracteata in Oregon or anywhere
else, I would instantly drop everything and make the pilgrimage. I
wrote to American Forests for an explanation of
the goof, then again without response. Disgusted, I never renewed my
subscription.
**Concerning
Veitch's “indefatigable American collector,” William Lobb was
initially praised and appreciated...until he eventually
grew...fatigued. His output dwindled and his correspondence faltered
in his later years, and upon his death in a San Francisco hospital,
alone and abandoned, he had no mourners at his burial in a public
plot. The official cause of death was “by paralysis” which was
probably a euphemism for syphilis.
 |
| Abies bracteata 'Corbin' |
 |
| Abies bracteata 'Corbin' |
I have grown Abies
bracteata for most of my career, but I admit that sales were never
strong for the USDA zone 6-7 species, though it has always been
valued by West Coast, USA specialty retail nurseries. All of the
trees that I supplied were grafts from one scion source: from Dr.
Corbin's Portland, Oregon specimen, and he was delighted as a plant
friend that I could find at least some commercial success with it. We
identify our crops with the cultivar-like designation of Abies
bractaeta 'Corbin'...where I use the single quotes even though the
late Dr. Corbin's tree was similar to the type. Let's just say that
it was particularly happy in his landscape. I may never see it again,
for upon the deaths of Dr. and Mrs. Corbin I lost access to the
garden, and the current owners of the property would probably have no
interest for this rustic nurseryman to wander through their valuable
landscape.
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata |
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Fatso' |
Sciadopitys
verticillata (Koya maki) is
the “Umbrella Pine” of Japan. According to the Veitch Manual,
it was first studied by Thunberg in 1784 “who
described it as a species of Yew. It's true character was determined
by Siebold, many years afterwards, and who gave it its scientific
name, which is a literal translation of the popular name.”
The genus name Sciadopitys
is derived from skias,
or skiados
for “a parasol” and pitys
for “pine tree.” The specific epithet verticillata
comes from the Latin word meaning “whorled”.
 |
| Distribution of Sciadopitys in Japan, Source: GBIF (2021) |
Sciadopitys
was first introduced into England by Thomas Lobb in 1853, then later
more extensively by J.G. Veitch and Robert Fortune – yes, the
latter two were rivals. It's curious how Thomas Lobb is credited with
the first introduction of Sciadopytis, especially since he never
stepped foot in Japan. Lobb obtained one plant from the garden of the
Dutch Governor of Java and forwarded it to his English employer,
however it died soon thereafter. The Manual
recounts, “Cones
and seeds were sent home eight years later [after Lobb] by Mr. J.G.
Veitch, from which some of the finest specimens in England were
raised.”
In 1881 Veitch was already worrying about the conifer's future in its
native land due to its “restricted
habitat and comparative paucity of numbers.”
Since Veitch claimed that Sciadopitys was found wild only in one
locality, and in proximity to a dense population...”It
will doubtless be preserved indefinitely by the hand of
horticulturalists, on whom alone the perpetuation of the tree will
ultimately depend.”
Now we know it is distributed more widely than Veitch supposed, from
Fukushima in northern Honshu, south to Shikoku and even into
mid-eastern Kyushu Island, but still it is sparsely populated.
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Gold Rush' |
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Green Star' |
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Mr. Happy' |
 |
| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Mr. Happy' |
At Buchholz Nursery we have experienced mixed results with
propagating and growing the species over the four decades of my
career, but if it wasn't so interesting and beautiful we should have
quit it long ago. Raising seedlings is extremely slow, and one must
monitor the process constantly to avoid disease (usually caused by
overwatering). Propagation by rooted cuttings occupied us for 25-30
years, and we were always thrilled if 40-50% succeeded. However, once
the grower achieves a pencil-sized, healthy rootstock, the grafting
of selected cultivars is usually over 90% successful. Needless to
say, sales of Sciadopitys cultivars such as 'Mr. Happy', 'Gold Rush',
'Green Star' and many others always command high prices.
 |
| Flora Wonder Arboretum |
I
could continue much longer with plant portraits from Veitch's A
Manual of Coniferae,
but I'll spare the reader as is. All of the plants I have collected
or grown formed a family – usually happy, but not always – a
special place of diversity and inclusion known as the Flora Wonder
Arboretum. Yes, the family trees communicate with each other, while I
attempt to decipher their language. Every plant has a story
– its history,
and Veitch Nursery was involved with a great many floral tales.
No comments:
Post a Comment