Philipp Franz Von Siebold - Plants Named After Siebold

Plants Named After Siebold

The botanical and horticultural spheres of influence have honored Philipp Franz von Siebold by naming some of the very garden-worthy plants that he studied after him. Examples include:

• Acer sieboldianum or Siebold's Maple is a variety of maple native to Japan
• Calanthe sieboldii or Siebold's Calanthe is a terrestrial evergreen orchid native to Japan, the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan.
• Clematis florida var. sieboldiana (syn: C. florida 'Sieboldii' & C. florida 'Bicolor'): a somewhat difficult Clematis to grow "well" but a much sought after plant nevertheless
• Dryopteris sieboldii: a fern with leathery fronds
• Hosta sieboldii of which a large garden may have a dozen quite distinct cultivars
• Magnolia sieboldii: the under-appreciated small "Oyama" magnolia
• Malus sieboldii: the fragrant Toringo Crab-Apple, (originally called Sorbus toringo by von Siebold), whose pink buds fade to white
• Primula sieboldii: the Japanese woodland primula Sakurasou (Chinese/Japanese: 櫻草)
• Prunus sieboldii: a flowering cherry
• Sedum sieboldii: a succulent whose leaves form rose-like whorls
• Tsuga sieboldii: a Japanese hemlock
• Viburnum sieboldii: a deciduous large shrub that has creamy white flowers in spring and red berries that ripen to black in autumn.

Also a type of abalone, Nordotis gigantea, is known as Siebold's abalone, and is prized for sushi.

Though he is well known in Japan ("Shiboruto-san"), and mentioned in the relevant schoolbooks, von Siebold is almost unknown elsewhere, except among gardeners who admire the many plants whose names incorporate sieboldii and sieboldiana. The Hortus Botanicus in Leiden has recently laid out the "von Siebold Memorial Garden", a Japanese garden with plants sent by von Siebold. Japanese visitors come and visit this garden, to pay their respect for him.