365 Urban species. #363: Japanese Pachysandra

[urbpan]

Photos by cottonmanifesto. Location: Netherlands Road, Brookline.

Urban species #363: Japanese pachysandra Pachysandra terminalis

English ivy, periwinkle, and Japanese pachysandra are, by far, the most commonly planted evergreen ground cover plants in Boston, and many other cities. Pachysandra is fairly described as "overused," but it is so useful that it is hard to fault landscapers who choose it. It is shade tolerant, and so may be grown underneath trees or tall buildings. It is resistant to herbivores, so it is safe to plant in the suburbs without fear of being denuded by deer and rabbits. And it does its job well, forming a low-maintenance carpet that can be easily kept within the desired boundaries.

Pachysandra is an Asian native that, once introduced to a new place, doesn't seem to participate very much in the local ecology. It does prevent other plants from growing, by forming a thick mat of plants, but it spreads very slowly, and is considered at worst mildly invasive. Its small flowers are visited by honeybees, but because cultivated pachysandra is usually composed of single-sex clones, fruit rarely develops. A North American relative, Allegheny pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens) is promoted by native plant enthusiasts, but loses its leaves in northern winters, and so will not become popular in Boston.


This sad group of pachysandra plants in front of my building is suffering from poor soil drainage, I believe.



This patch of pachysandra once delineated an area in a well-groomed park which has been allowed to go wild. Two Norway maples have penetrated their mat. Photos by urbpan. Location: Forest Park, Springfield.

Comments

[arturus.livejournal.com]

You've got #362 twice in a row here.

Just a heads up.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Whoops! Thanks for that! That sure would have been a problem come Sunday.

[roaming.livejournal.com]

Just wanna say how much I value and appreciate this service you're doing! I'm learning sooooo much about my environment I never noticed before. Though I have to say, cottonmanifesto's photos make everything look a whole lot more interesting than they seem to me in "real life." :-)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words!

I agree, she has a way of finding what is fascinating and beautiful about something that you walk by every day without noticing.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

thank you for that. :)

[bezigebij.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, it is rare to see pachysandra here. Not quite sure why that is, because I agree, it is a super useful plant.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I don't know why that would be either. The climate in the Netherlands shouldn't be an issue--maybe there's a cultural reason?

Separation anxiety is setting in.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

This is a common sight in this part of southwestern Ct. People dump their garden trash in the woods and the pachysandra takes over. It's tough to get rid of once it's established.

I'm going to miss these posts. I wonder if enough people would contribute similar posts if there was a community, like the urban nature community, that had a day by day structure. It would be hard to match cottonmanifesto's excellent eye. And harder still to pair a decent photo with a readable, knowledgeable explanation and commentary, so now that I'm thinking about it, I guess probably not. But it's been a lot of fun. For your readers anyway... (And, I hope, for you two, too.)

Re: Separation anxiety is setting in.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

The urban nature community has taken on a kind of life of its own. I'm happy about it, but I almost never post there myself. I probably will post there more when the project is done.

It has been a lot of fun. (and a lot of work!)