At 08:57 AM 7/24/04 -0400, wrote:
I was under the impression that Nire is simply the Japanese word for elm.
Sometimes I see this name attached to Zelkova. Recently I was told that
'Nire' is
a specific cultivar of Ulmus parvifolia. It has a very narrow white picotee
on the edge of the leaves. It is sold under that name in Japan. Not the
same as
'Kimmie' or 'Frosty.' In fact, I have one that fits that description. Can't
find any reference to it on the Web. Can anyone clarify?

Iris

Sorry I can't give you any authoritative sources, but I was under the
impression that Nire was the species Ulmus parvifolia and the variegated
form was 'Fuiri'. This appears to be the parent of 'Frosty' since 'Frosty'
frequently reverts to this larger variegated form, so much so, that I gave
up trying to grow 'Frosty' and settled on 'Fuiri', which I think is a
superior plant for bonsai even if it is larger.

This is not an uncommon problem in Japanese naming. Until recently, it
appears that Japanese nurseryman did not fully subscribe to Western notions
of cultivars, and thus there are generic type names for groups of clones
with similar characteristics. I don't have any hard evidence for this, it
is just my conclusion after trying to track down many cultivar names as you
doing. I wish we had more Japanese members who could shed some light on
this situation.

Yezo spruce is another good one. It means many things to many different
people, and refers to Picea jezoensis, P. glehnii, and P. j. hondoensis,
just for starters. The names of the cork bark black pines, Nishiki forms of
Pinus thunbergii is another nightmare.


Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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