A Stroll through a Japanese Forest Quiz

Answer: Japanese mizunara oak

Like other oaks, mizunara oaks are used in framing buildings, cabinetry, and furniture but they are specifically known for their use in whisky barrels. The mizunara wood is used for aging whisky in Japan and Scotland. It is also used to grow shiitake mushrooms.

Beginning in 2024, a purchase of a bottle of Japanese whisky means that it will have used water from Japan and will have gone through all steps of production in Japan as well. Those steps will include fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling.

PR's jaknginger now has one more reason to visit the beautiful country of Japan.

Answer: Japanese chinquapin

The Japanese chinquapin, 'Castanopsis cuspidata,' is the shii tree. It is an evergreen standing about 25m tall, with leathery leaves. The seeds can be roasted and eaten. It produces catkins which have a slightly unpleasant smell to us but are attractive to the midges that pollinate the tree.

Player pusdoc sprouted this question for the Red Crew of Phoenix Rising

Answer: Japanese bay

The Japanese bay, 'Machilus thunbergii', is one of the largest trees found in Japanese old growth forests. It has reddish brown heartwood used for furniture and musical instruments, and the bark has many uses - dyes for silk, mosquito repellants and incense have been made from this tree.

Player pusdoc harvested this question for the Phoenix Rising Global Tour 2022

Answer: Hand-like leaf shape

Acer palmatum have been grown in Japan for centuries, and were extensively exported around the world in the 1800s. Carl Thunberg, a Swedish botanist, named them after the shape of the leaves. They have many different varieties with differing leaf sizes, leaf serrations and colours, height and growth habit of the tress, some are upright, some have a more spreading, or 'weeping' habit. They are a popular choice amongst bonsai aficionados.

Red Crew's smpdit has 6 acers growing in her garden that give her great joy.

Answer: A coppicing technique where the tree is not cut down for wood

Daisugi is a coppicing technique which prunes shoots from the base of the tree. This allows branches to grow upwards from lower branches which means the logs can be cut without having to chop down the whole tree. These logs have been used to construct tea rooms used in the 'tea ceremony', dating back to the Muromachi period. Japanese cedar is the only variety of the Cupressaceae family and is generally considered to be endemic to Japan, though it is found in large numbers in China and the Azores where it is grown for wood production. It grows to a height of 70m (230ft) and can have a 4m (13ft) trunk diameter. It is distantly related to the Sequoia family but is its own distinct genus. Its pollen is a major factor for hay fever among the Japanese population.

Smpdit thinks this is a very clever way for trees to be used without deforestation.

Answer: Rice

Japanese elm trees have low to moderate resistance to the diseases that affect other elm trees, such as Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle. However, the intensive cultivation of rice has had an impact on their habitat as they prefer alluvial, swampy soils.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit planted this question firmly in the swamp.

Answer: Tea

Camellia japonica, like other camellias, can be used to make tea. The variety usually used in large-scale tea production is Camellia sinensis, but it will still be fine to drink, and the leaves are rich in terpenoids known to be anti- inflammatory substances. The plant is usually grown for its variety and vibrant coloured blooms, which can range from pale pinks to rich reds and bloom in January to March depending on climate. They prefer a slightly acidic soil.

Red Team's smpdit, supped quietly on a tisane of camellia as she wrote this quiz. She is British after all!

Answer: Red

The Aucuba japonica is a shrub with spotted leaves which gives rise to its common names of 'spotted laurel' and 'gold dust plant'. Its showy leaves and profusion of red berries (drupes) makes it an ideal ornamental plant. The Japanese laurel was introduced to England in 1783, but the plant is dioecious, and they unfortunately only introduced the female variety. It wasn't until a male plant was sourced that the plant bore fruit and became popular.

Phoenix Rising's Red crew member leith90 spotted this question and thought the red berries were appropriate for the team.

Answer: Japanese beech

The Japanese beech has the scientific name Fagus crenata and it is also referred to as Siebold's beech or buna. It is one of Japan's most prominent trees in forests ranging across the nation's four main islands. The Japanese beech typically grows in sandy soil known as loam and its leaves and seeds are edible to humans.

This question was seeded into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.

Answer: Cherry blossom

The cherry blossom tree, known in Japan as Sakura and across the globe as the Japanese cherry, is instantly recognisable as inherently Japanese as the Shinto shrine. The tree is an ornamental tree from the sub-genus Cerasus, not the fruit-bearing species, and is the National Tree of Japan. Japanese cherry blossom season runs from March to April but can extend from January through to May and follows the season north from the equator.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member leith90 cultivated this question and allowed it to blossom.