4. Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)

When the Katsura's heart-shaped leaves drop in autumn, the air fills with the aroma of burnt sugar. Its foliage and the wide round shape of the tree's canopy have made it a valued ornamental plant. Overharvesting and low reproduction are to blame for the Katsura's decline in its native habitats in China and Japan, and the World Conservation Union named it a "near vulnerable" threatened species in 1998.

Notable Neighbors:

• 4A. American beech
  (Fagus grandifolia)
• 4B. Eastern white pine grove
  (Pinus strobus)
• 4C. China fir
  (Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca')
• 4D. Stinking cedar
  (Torreya taxifolia)
• 4E. Katsura tree
  (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)