Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 Species: Dogtooth violet Status: Classed
as "vulnerable" or "endangered" in some prefectures During the
last Ice Age 20,000 years ago, western Honshu was covered in
mixed deciduous and conifer forests that provided an ideal
habitat for the katakuri (Dogtooth violet; Erythronium
japonicum). These plants that produce dainty mauve flowers in
early spring grow only where sunlight reaches the forest floor,
blooming before leaves block out the sun from overhead. Back
when mammoths and moose roamed Japan, such habitat was abundant.
But as the archipelago warmed, evergreen broadleaf trees such as
the shii (chinquapin) and varieties of kashi (evergreen oak)
replaced conifers, nara (deciduous oaks) and buna (beech) trees
from the Kanto region westward. Since these were leafy year-
round, Dogtooth violets could no longer grow below them.
Luckily, a refuge was in sight: satoyama woodlands. These
secondary forests were made up of deciduous trees and so
provided islands of habitat similar to what preva