May 16,
Myles Standish State Forest,
Plymouth
Leaded by Commodore Perry,
the US Japan Expedition of 1852-54
("Perry Expedition") had a
mission to initiate
open trade with Japan. Multiple previous
attempts (4 American and 14
international expeditions)
had failed to initiate trade. Perry
succeeded to sign the treaty. The other
goal of the expedition was gathering
information on
natural history. Rev. S. Wells Williams
and Dr. James Morrow were appointed
plant collectors and brought back both
dried samples and
live plants. A list of
plants collected in Japan was then
compiled by Asa Gray, who described a
new species of
honeysuckle from Japan and named it
after its collector. The plant later on
became the most
aggressive of naturalized exotic shrubby
honeysuckles, all of which ended up on
the invasive plant list.