Animal and Plant Life in the Ponds and Wetlands
Animals
• Japanese Fire-bellied Newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster)
An amphibian reaching 10 centimeters in length, notable for its mottled ventral pattern
of bright red-and-black skin, which contains a dangerous tetrodotoxin. If accidentally handled,
wash point(s) of contact thoroughly.
• Japanese Relict Dragonfly (Epiophlebia superstes)
About 5 centimeters long, with wings of 3 centimeters. A relict species, or “living fossil,”
and the only surviving member of the once-widespread Epiophlebiidae family.
• Scarce Large Blue Butterfly (Phengaris teleius)
Forewings measure 18–24 millimeters. Caterpillars produce a sweet nectar and are adopted
into ant nests, where they feed upon ant broods before pupating. Critically endangered as of 2019.
Wetland Plants
• Japanese Water Iris (Iris ensata var. spontanea)
Perennial. Bold purple with yellow stripes on the falls; usually blooms in June. The wild
ancestor of many modern iris cultivars grown worldwide.
• Kiseruazami Thistle (Cirsium sieboldii)
Perennial. Blooms from August to October, producing magenta flowers with a characteristic droop.
Its Japanese name of “pipe thistle” (kiseruazami) comes from its resemblance to a kiseru,
a traditional Japanese tobacco pipe.
• Fringe Sedge (Fimbristylis dichotoma)
Annual. Sprouts red-brown spikelets from July to November. Some attribute the native name,
which can be read as “sky-piercer” (tentsuki), to these skyward-pointing flower heads.
Plants in or near ponds
• Pondweed (Potamogeton fryeri)
A perennial pondweed with broad, glossy, floating leaves of dark green tinged with red. Small
yellow-green flowers bloom between April and June. The characters used to write “pondweed” (蛭蓆)
mean “the leech’s resting-mat.”
• Beaksedge (Rhynchospora fauriei)
Perennial. In the Chūgoku region, this grass-like sedge grows only at elevations of 400 meters
or greater. Red-brown spikelets appear from July to September. Its Japanese name
(ōinu no hanahige) suggests it is a particularly large species in the genus
of sedge called“dog’s moustache” (inu no hanahige).
• Fringe Sedge (Fimbristylis subbispicata)
Perennial. A sedge that grows in mountain wetlands, with stems of 30 to 40 centimeters
that produce only a single spikelet. The native name, yamai, means “mountain rush.”
