Bull. Natn. Sci. M us .. Tokyo. Ser. B. 24( I). pp. 25- 35. March 23. 1998

Woody Plant Flora of the Senbon-matsubara Coastal Forest
in Numazu City, Central Japan
Fumihiro Konta
Departme nt of Botany, Nat iona l Sc ience Museum.
4- 1- 1 Ama kubo. Tsukuba, lbaraki, 305-0005 Japan

Abstract T he woody plant flo ra of the Se nbon-matsubara coasta l forest in Numazu
C ity, Ce ntra l Japa n, is compiled based on th e herbariu m spec im ens co ll ected s ince
1990. The taxa recorded in this fl ora are 13 1 species belonging to 53 families , which
include a rborescent trees, sma ll shrubs , woody v ines and bamboos in both native andc ulti va ted co nditi ons. Eac h taxo n is followed by short co mme nts o n the di st inct ion
e ith er native or culti vated and th e density of trees. Flo ri sti c chara racteri stics o f thi scoasta l forest was analysed by the comparison between th e native woody flora of th iscoasta l fore st and that of Mt. Ashitaka. The species number mentioned above is one
third of that of Mt. Ashitaka. Luxuri ant g rowth of the maritime woody pl a nts , suchas Pillosporum tobira , Daphniphvllum teijsmannii , Rhus succedanea, flex integra,/lex rotunda, Cinnamomumjaponicum , Vaccinium bracteatum etc. is recogn ized andthese species show that the Senbon-matsuba ra coasta l forest has common species
compos iti o n w ith the coasta l forests o f the ce ntra l Hon shu.
Key words :flora , woody plants, coasta l forest , Japanese black pine, conservation .

Vascular plant floras of the di stinguished areas, such as Mt. Fuji (Umemura,
1923), have usually been investigated based on the longterm field works in Japan.
Generally speaking, these floras are composed of an integrated floral records from thepast to the date of manuscription, during several decades, and seems to show the sumof changin g flora in the area. On the other hand, flora s may be compiled to makeclear the up-to-date phase based on the intensive field works for a short time. Floral
records in the latter case may offer useful clue to the conservation of native species
where vegetation s and the other environmental conditions are rapidly changing. The
rapi d changes of forest vegetations accompanied by the floral change have been observed in the south western part of Japan (Konta , 1997), in which drastic decline of
the Japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora, and luxuriation of broad-leaved evergreen
trees after the decline of the pines occurred.
The rapid change of the forest vegetations was also observed in the coastal forest mainly composed of Japanese bl ack pine, Pinus thunbergii, at Senbon-matsubara
in Numazu City in Centra l Japan (Fig. I). Thi s pine forest extends over about I 0 km
from the east to west as a belt along the Suruga Bay, and has the area of 90 ha . The
pine trees have been repeated ly planted over 400 years. Dense pl antati on of the pine,

26

Fumihiro Konta•

Nagoya City.
.
4

Mt.Fuji-•

Mt. Ashitaka/-

Senbon-matsubara~

Shizuoka C

e Izu Peninsula

The Atsumi Peninsula
50 Km

Fig . I. Ma p showing the Senbon-matsubara, Mt. Ashitaka and coastal forests (e ) in the lzu andthe Atsumi Peninsula.

strong sea wind resulting drought of the forest soil and continuous human life to get
firewood have maintained the pure pine forest with some maritime plants until 1950s.
Environmental condition of the pure pine forest had entirely changed by the construction of high tide water control bank and the close of the firewood cutting after 1950s.
It was suggested recently that old pine trees in this forest might be declining and thestructure of this forest might change to broad-leaved evergreen one by invasion ofmany evergreen and deciduous trees, as well as expanding of plantation of both evergreen and deciduous trees (Konta et al., 1996). I had interest in the woody flora ofthis coastal forest, because l) it could be supposed that the present-day woody
species invading into the pure stands of Japanese black pine trees might show fundamental woody floristic elements of natural coastal forests in the Pacific Ocean side ofcentral Honshu , 2) it is useful to study woody flora of this changing pine forest forthe plan of management of this coastal forest. Having these two interests in mind, I
started field work in 1990. I have collected herbarium specimens of woody plants andinvestigated the growing condition which is either native or cultivated and density ofeach species. Woody plants collected were arborescent trees, small trees, shrubs,
woody vines, and bamboos of both native and planted.

Enumeration of Species
The arrangment of families is according to Melchior ( 1964 ). Each species is followed by specimen number of F. Konta, distinction either native or cultivated, growing conditions including standing frequency and ages, distirbution in the pine forest
etc. I judged cultivated species or tree based on the sign of transplanting and the suggestion by Mr. Shizuo Iida, an officer of Shizuoka prefectural government, who has
been engaged in the management of this forest for long time. Cultivated species isshwon as cult. after specimen number. Specimens collected are preserved in theherbarium of National Science Museum, Tokyo (TNS). Abundance is shown by threegrades: rare, frequent, and common.

Woody Plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara

27

Cycadaceae

Cycas revoluta Thunb., 17465, cult. , rare, young.
Ginkgoaceae

Ginkgo biloba L. , 18109, cult. , rare.
Pinaceae

Abies.firma Siebold et Zucc. , 18111, cult. , rare, several young trees only.
Cedrus deodara Loud. , 17445 , cult., rare.
Pinus densiflora Siebold et Zucc ., 17440, cult. , rare.
Pinus thunbergii Pari , 17413 , 18073 , 18142, cult. and native, common.
Cupressaceae

Juniperus chinensis L. , 18080, cult. , rare.
Podocarpaceae

Podocarpus macrophy llus (Thunb.) D. Don, 18050, cult. and native, common.
Myricaceae

Myrica rubra Siebold et Zucc., 17470, cult., rare.
Juglandaceae

Juglans mandshurica Maxim.var. sachalinensis (Miyabe et Kudo) Kitam ., 18005, rare.
Betulaceae

Alnus sieboldiana Matsumura, 17411 , 18074, 18022, common in west part of forest.
Fagaceae

Castanea crenata Siebold et Zucc. , 18093 , frequent.
Castanopsis sieboldii (Makino) Hatusima ex Yamazaki et Mashiba, 17466, 18116, 18138,
18160, frequent.
Lithocarpus edulis (Makino) Nakai, 17458, 18079, cult., common .
Quercus acuta Thunb., 18061 , rare.
Quercus acutissima Carr. , 17409, common in west part of forest.
Quercus glauca Thunb. ex Murray, 1744 7, 17414, 18020, cult. and native, common.
Quercus phillyra eoides A. Gray, 17438, cult. and native (not collected), common .
Quercus serrata Thunb. ex Murray, 17405, 18026, common.
Ulmaceae

Aphananthe aspera (Thunb.) Planch., 18099, 18033 , common.
Celtis sinensis Pers var.japonica (Planch.) Nakai, 17446, common.
Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino, 18145, common.

Fumihiro Konta

28

Moraceae

Fints ereca Thunb., 17462, 18027, 18016, common.
Morus austral is Pair., 17461 , frequent.
Magnoliaceae

Magnolia grandifiora L. , 18106, cult., rare.
Schizandraceae

Kadzurajaponica (Thunb.) Dunal, 18013 , 18055, common.
llliciaceae

Illicium anisatum L. , 18019, rare.
Lauraceae

Cinnamomum camphora ( L.) Presl , 174 75, 18042, cult. and native, common.
Cinnamomum japonicum Siebold ex Nakai, 180 I 0, 18038, cult. and native, common.
Litsea coreana Lev., 18014, 18068, common.
Ma chilus thunbergii Seek. et Zucc ., 17457, 18075, rare.
Neo/itzea set"icea (81.) Koidz, 17474, common.
Berberidaceae

Mahoniajaponica (Thunb.) DC. , 18113, rare .
Nandina domestica Thunb. , 18125, rare.
Lardizabalaceae

Akebia quinata (Thunb.) Decne ., 17418, common.
Akebia trifoliata (Thunb.) Koidz., 17437, common.
Theaceae

Camellia japonica L. , 17427 cult. and native (not collected) , common .
Camellia sasanqua Thunb. , 17563, cult. , common.
Camellia sinensis (L.) 0. Ktze ., 17426, rare.
Eurya emarginata (Thunb.) Makino, 17434 , cult. , frequent.
EUJyajaponica Thunb. , 17430, common.
Ternstroemia gymnanthera (Wight et Arn.) Beddome, 18086, cult. and native (not collected),
frequent.
Saxifragaceae

Deutzia crena/a Siebold et Zucc ., 18071 , common .
Hvdranga macrophvlla (Thunb. & Murray). f. macrophylla 18017, 18045 , cult. , frequent.

Woody Plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara

29

Pittosporaceae

Pittosporum tobira (Thunb. ex Murray) Aiton, 18004, 17433 , 18043 , cult. , and native, common.
Rosaceae

Ervobotrl'CI japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. , 1746 7, cult., rare.
Pourthiaea villosa (Thunb.) Decne.var./aevis (Thunb.) Stapf., 17471 , 18065, frequent.
Prunusjamasakura Sieb. ex Koidzumi, 17443, frequent.
Prunus lann esiana (Carr.) Wilson cv. , 17442, frequent.
Prunus mume (Sieb.) Sieb. et Zucc., 17444, cult. , frequent.
Prunus speciusa (Koidz.) Nakai , 17403 , frequent.
Prunus X.l'edoensis Matsumura, 17410, 17436, cult., common .
Rhaphiolepis indica (L.) Lindl. ex Ker var. umbellata (Thunb. ex Murray) Ohashi, 17450, cult .
and native (not collected), frequent.
Rosa multiflura Thunb., 18070, common.
Rosa wichuraiana Crepin, 18034, common.
Rubus hirsull/s Thunb., 17420, common.
Rubus palmaills Thunb., 18 130, 18136, frequent in west part of forest .
Rubus parvifiilius L., 18032, common .
Rubus tri/idu.1· Thunb., 17400, common.
Leguminosae

Albi::::::ia julibrissin Durazz., 18098, frequent.
Indigo/era pseudotincturia Matsumura, 18035, common.
Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi , 18002, common in west .
Rubinia pseuduacacia L. , 17412, 18088, 18036 cult. , common.
Wisteriafloribunda (Willd .) DC. , 18089, frequent.
Euphorbiaceae

Mallotusjaponicus (Thunb.) Muell. Arg., 18001 , 18030, 18047, common .
Daphniphvllum teijsmannii Zoll. ex Kurz, 17468, 18053, 18148 cult . and nati ve, common.
Rutaceae

Citrus natsudaidai Hayata, 18014, cult., rare.
Zanthoxvlum piperitum DC. , 18133 , frequent .
Simaroubaceae

Ailanthus altissima Swingle, 18087, cu lt., rare.
Meliaceae

Me/ia a:::edarach L. , 18060, cult. , rare.

30

Fumihiro Konta

Coriariaceae

Coriariajaponica A. Gray, 18095, rare, only in west part of forest.
Anacardiaceae

Rhus javanica L.var. roxburghii (DC) Rehder et Wits. , 18006, 18041 , common.
Rhus succedanea L. , 17432, cult. (not collected) and native, common .
Aceraceae

Acer palmatum Thunb. , 17472, 18084, cult. , rare.
Aguifoliaceae

flex crenata Thunb. , 18108, cult. and native (not collected), rare.
flex integra Thunb. , 17429, 18078, 18158, cult. and native, common .
flex rotunda Thunb. , 17454, 18040, 18009, cult. and native, common.
Celastraceae

Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb., 18091, common.
Euonymus japonicus Thunb., 17456, cult. (not collected) and native, common.
Euonymus sieboldianus BL. , 18064, common .
Staphyleaceae

Euscaphisjaponica (Thunb.) Kanitz, 18097, rare.
Vitaceae

Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. , 18091 , 174 76, common .
Vitis thunbergii Siebold et Zucc, 18015, 18067, frequent.
Malvaceae

Hibiscus sy riacus L. , 18015, cult. , rare.
Sterculiaceae

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. F. Wight, 18037, 18007, cult. , rare.
Elaeagnaceae

Elaeagnus macrophy lla Thunb. , 18132, frequent.
Elaeagnus pungens Thunb., 17453, 18096, common.
Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. , 17404, 18028, 18090, common .
Flacourtiaceae

ldesia polycarpa Maxim ., 18056, rare.

Woody Plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara

Cornaceae

Aucuba japonica Thunb. , 17448, common.
Cornus macrophylla Wallich, 18146 cult. , rare.
Araliaceae

Aralia elata (Miq.) Seeman, 18031, frequent.
Dendropanax trifidus (Thunb.) Makino, 18114, frequent.
Fatsia japonica (Thunb.) Decne. et Planch. , 17408, common.
Hedera rhombea (Miq.) Bean, 17423, common.
Kalopanax pictus (Thunb.) Nakai, 17460, frequent.
Ericaceae

Rhododendron indicum (L.) Sweet, 18150, cult., frequent.
Rhododendron oomurasaki Makino, 17473, cult., frequent.
Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb., 18011 , common.
Myrsinaceae

Ardisia crena /a Sims., 18025, 17455 , common.
Ardisiajaponica (Thunb.) Blume, 17459, common.
Ebenaceae

Diospyros kaki Thunb. , 17407, 18062, cult., rare.
Oleaceae

Forsythia viridissima Lindl. , 18082, cult. , frequent.
Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. f. pubescens (Kaidz.) Mu rata, 18048, rare.
Ligustrum lucidum A it. , 17407, 18018, cult., rare.
Ligustrum obtustfolium Siebold et Zucc., 18096, frequent.
Ligustrum oval(folium Hassk., 18052, 18029, common .
Osmanthusfi·agrans Lour. var. amantiacus Makino, 18107, cult., frequent.
Osmanthus heterophyllus (G. Don) P .S. Green, 18131 , rare.
Apocynaceae

Gardenia jasminioides Ell is, 18121 , cult. (not collected) and native, rare.
Nerium indicum Mill., 18022, 18076, 18021 cult., common.
Trachelospermum asiaticum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Nakai , 18118, common.
Rubiaceae

Gardenia jasminoides Ell is, 18121 , cult.( not collected) and native, rare.
Damnacanthus indicus Garetn, f., 18118, frequent.

31

32

Fumihiro Konla

Verbenaceae

Ca llicarpajaponica Thunb. , 18049, rare.
Clerodendron trichotomum Thunb. , 18063, common.
Solanaceae

Lvcium chinense Mieler, 174 17, cu lt., rare.
Scrophulariaceae

Paulownia tom entosa (Thunb.) Steud., 18024, rare.
Capri fol iaceae

AbeliaXgrandiflora (Andre) Rehder, 18012, cult., common .
Lonicera japonica Thunb., 18057, frequent.
Viburnum dilatatum Thunb. , 18072, frequent.
Viburnum odoratissimum Ker-Gawler var. awabuki (K. Koch) Zabe l, 18008, cult. , frequent.
Weigela coraeensis Thunb. f. alba (Voss ) Rehder, 18077, rare.
Compositae

Per/Fa scandens (Thunb.) Sch .-Bip. , 18 156, common in west part of forest.
Liliaceae

Smilax china L., 17419, frequent.
Yucca recurvifolia Salisb., 18105, cult ., rare.
PalmaeTrachvcarpum wagnerianus Becc. , 1745 1, 18 122, cult. , rare.
Trachvccupusfortunei (Hook.) H. Wend!. , 17449, 18 139, cu lt. , frequent.
Gramineae

Phyllostachvs heterocycla (Carr.) Milf. , 18 103 , cult. , rare.
Phvllastachvs nigra Munno var. henonis (Bean) Stapf, 18 151 , cu lt., frequent in west part offorest.

Pleiohlastus china (Fr. et Sav.) Makino, 17366, 17425, common.

Discussion
In this flora, 131 woody species belonging to 53 families were li sted including
pl anted trees . Native woody plants were 88 species belonging to 36 families. Many
maritime species were recorded in this flora and, on the other hand, a few spec ies
g rowing mountain areas distant from the coast were included. These native woody
flora was compared with the flora of Mt. Ashitaka (Sugimoto, 1962) to clarify thecharacteristics of natural woody plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest.

Woody Pl a nt Aora of the Scnbon-matsubara

33

Mt. Ashitaka, 1507 m in altitude, is an old volcano towering in the north of the Senbon-matsubara coast. Vegetation at the foot of the mountain belongs to an evergreen
laurel forest of the warm temperate zone and many evergreen broad-leaved trees areg rowing . This foot area is about 5 km from the Senbon-matsubara coast and there isno coastal vegetation. The flora of Mt. Ashitaka consists of native 241 woody species
belonging to 59 families. Species number of native woody plants in the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest is about one third of that in Mt. Ashitaka. Some families recorded in the latter are absent, or some others have very much fewer species in the former.
For example, Cephalotaxaceae, Taxaceae, Cupressaceae, Taxodiaceae, Betulaceae,
and Aceraceae are absent from the former. No species belonging to these families ismaritime plants. In the following families , couples of numeral s connected by hyphen
in parentheses after each family names show the number of species in both flora (thefirst numeral is in Mt. Ashitaka); Rosaceae (28-11 ), Celastraceae (8-3 ), Ericaceae( 15-1 ), and Caprifoliaceae ( 17-4 ). On the other hand, the couples of numerals in eachfamily noted below show that similar species number occur in both areas; Fagaceae( 11-7}, Ulmaceae (2-3), Moraceae (4-2), Lauraceae (8-5) , Leguminosae (8 -4) , Euphorbiaceae (2-2), Cerastraceae (8-3), Vitaceae (3-2), Elaeagnaceae (5-3), and Verbenaceae (3-2). All families found in the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest are common with the Mt. Ashitaka except Podocarpaceae.
Comparision of native species between the two floras shows that following 25
spec ies grow only in the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest; Podocarpus macrophyllus,

Quercus phillyraeoides, Aphananthe aspera, Kadzura japonica, Cinnamomum camphora, Litsea coreana, Ternstroemia gymnanthera, Pittosporum tobira , Rhaphiolepis
indica , Prunus lannesiana, Prunus speciosa, Rubus trifidus, Daphniphyllum teUsmanii, Rhus succedan ea, flex integra, flex rotunda, Euonymusjaponicus, Vitis thunbergii, Elaeagnus macrophylla , Elaeagnus umbellata , Dendropanax trifidus, Fatsia
japonica, Vaccinium bracteatum , Ardisiajaponica and Ligustrum ovalifolium.
It seems that some in the above listed species are coastal pl ants which characterize the woody plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara Coastal forest. Among 25 species
above li sted, 21 species except Prunus lann esiana , Vitis thunbergii, and Elaeagnus
umbellata, are recorded in natural forest or coastal fore st reserve in the lzu Peninsula(Konta, 1981). On the other hand, Kurauchi (1969) listed up such woody species ascited below in the coastal fore st in the Atsumi Peninsula which belongs the same climatic zone with the Senbon-matsubara coastal fore st; Pinus thunbergii, Castanopsis

sieboldii, Cinnamomum japonicum , Machilus thunbergii, Neolitsea sericea, Camellia
japonica, Ternstroemia gymnanthera, Pittosporum tobira , Mallotusjaponicus, Daphniphyllum teijsmanii, flex integra, Elaeagnus macrophylla, Dendropanax trifidus,
Ligustrum japonicum, Ardisia crenata , and Damnacanthus indicus. All these species
are also found in the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest and most of them occur in the
coastal forest in the lzu Peninsula (Fig. I). It is concluded, therefore , that the woody
flora of Senbon-matsubara coastal forest is same with natural coastal forests on the

34

Fumihiro Konta

Pacific Ocean side of Honshu in the warm temperat zone.
Most part of this pine forest with dense evergreen broad-leaved trees seem tohave been formed during 50 years after the construction of the high tide water control
bank and the close of firewood cutting, although there have been some small evergreen broad-leaved forests among the pine forests (Sugimoto, 1948).
For the establishment of the plan of treatment of this coastal forest, the conservation of the pine forest seems very important (Konta et al., 1997) and the treatmentof both native and cultivated species should be considered. From this view point,
three problems should be pointed out. Firstly, there are many broad-leaved arborescent species conflicting with pine trees by high growing speed, big crowns occupying
large areas as well as high standing density. Among these species, Rhus succedanea
and Lithocarpus edulis seem most problematic. Native trees of Aphananthe aspera ,Celtis sinensis, flex rotunda etc. and planted Cinnamomum camphora and Prunus
yezoensis also have similar problems though their density is not high. Secondly, highdensity of Robinia pseudoacacia and Alnus sieboldiana seem to change the mycorrhizal fungal flora. Thirdly, woody vines such as Pueraria lobata , Parthenocissus
japonica, Hedera rhombea etc. injure pine trees. It is the most serious problem thatyoung and small pine trees are covered by a mat of vines of these species. It is important that the permanent control including cutting of particular trees and vines should
be carried out for the conservation. Based on the analyses on woody plant flora andvegetations, a conservation plan of the Senbon-matsubara coastal forest was submitted to Numazu City in 1997. Reservation of some communities of maritime woody
plants such as Cinnamomum japonicum, Daphniphyllum teijsmanii, Pittosporum tobira, Rhus succedanea, and flex rotundifolia, and some small forests with old aged
evergreen trees such as Daphniphyllum teijsmanii, Cinnamomum japonicum, Castanopsis sieboldii, Machilus thunbergii etc. as well as old aged Pinus thunbergii forest should be established according to the conservation plan (Konta et al., 1997).

References
Melchior, H., 1964. A. Engler's Syllabus der pftanze nfamilien , Gebruder Borntraeger, 666 pp. Berlin.
Konta , F. , 1981. Representative Pl ant Communities of Shizuoka Prefecture, pp. 28- 76, Daiichi Houki
Shuppan, Tokyo (in Japanese).
Konta, F., 1997. Changing Vegetation and Flora in Nagasaki Prefecture. Mem. Natn. Sci. Mus .. Tokvo,(30): 29- 32. ( in Japanese).
Konta, F., T. lto and H. Nishikawa , 1996. Dynamics of the Senbon-matsubara Coasta l Forest in Numazu
C ity, Centra l Japan I. Outline of the Coasta l Forest and Vegetational Analysis by the Belt-transect
Method. Bull. Narn. Sci. Mus .. Tokyo , Ser. B, 22: 77- 85. ( in Japanese).
Konta , F. , T.Ito and H .N ishikawa, 1997. Dynamics of the Senbon-matsubara Coasta l Forest in Numazu
City, Central Japan 11 . Conse rvat io n of the Senbon-matsubara Coasta l Forest, Nat. Env. Se. Res., I 0 :78- 90. (In Japanese).
Kurauchi, K., 1969. Succession of plant community. ln M. Numata (ed.) , Figured Plant Ecology, pp.
129- 188. Asakurashoten, Tokyo (In Japanese).

Woody Plant flora of the Senbon-matsubara

35

Sug imoto, J. , 1948. Plants of Shizuoka Prefecture, pp. 136. Provincial culture study clu b in Shi zuoka
Pref. , Shizuoka (In Japanese) .
Sugimoto, J. , 1962. Flora of Mt. Ashitaka , Yoshihara City, pp. 43 (In Japanese).
Umemura, J., 1923. De Plantas Fujiyamanis, pp. 388, Maruzen, Tokyo ( In Japanese).