{"id":"pieris-japonica","license":"CC-BY-4.0","data":{"scientificName":"Pieris japonica","commonNames":["Japanese pieris"],"taxonRank":"species","acceptedName":"Pieris japonica","family":"Ericaceae","ids":{"usdaSymbol":"PIJA3","gbifKey":2882631,"itisTsn":565622,"wikidataQid":"Q2333372","inatTaxonId":127181},"usdaZoneMin":"5a","zoneSource":"fps-2016","states":["DC","DE","MD","NJ","OH","PA","WV"],"rangeAssertions":[{"relation":"introduced","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["MA"],"regions":["TDWG level 1 7 — NORTHERN AMERICA","TDWG level 2 75 — Northeastern U.S.A.","TDWG level 3 MAS — Massachusetts"]},"occurrenceStatus":"present","presenceStatus":"extant","source":"wcvp-v16","sourceVersion":"16","asOf":"2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z"},{"relation":"introduced","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["VT"],"regions":["TDWG level 1 7 — NORTHERN AMERICA","TDWG level 2 75 — Northeastern U.S.A.","TDWG level 3 VER — Vermont"]},"occurrenceStatus":"present","presenceStatus":"extant","source":"wcvp-v16","sourceVersion":"16","asOf":"2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z"}],"statusAssertions":[{"status":"introduced-established","channel":"ecological","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","regions":["L48"]},"source":"us-riis-v2","sourceRecordId":"USRIIS-L48-Plantae12760","sourceVersion":"2.0 (November 2022)","asOf":"2022-10-23T00:00:00.000Z","sourceModified":"2020-02-21T00:00:00.000Z","sourceTaxon":{"name":"Pieris japonica","rank":"species","rawRank":"Species"},"sourceDesignation":{"code":"C3","label":"established (category C3)"},"associatedReferences":["Kleunen et al. (2018), https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecy.2542"],"taxonProjection":{"basis":"exact-taxon","notes":"exact source identifier, rank, family, and scientific/accepted name"}}],"hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"5","interpretation":"ambiguous-single-value","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.","source":"fps-eastern-us","sourceRecordId":"pieris-japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record","sourceVersion":"2016-wayback","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"},{"minimum":"4","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Pieris japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"},{"minimum":"7a","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":2,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"USDA PLANTS provides no duration for this record, so perennial hardiness applicability is unresolved.","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PIJA3","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 65309, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z"}],"plantForm":"shrub","matureHeightFt":8,"sun":"part","waterNeed":"moderate","photo":{"file":"/images/plants/pieris-japonica.jpg","sourceUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/460612094","observationUrl":"https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/256848444","license":"cc-by","attribution":"(c) りなべる, some rights reserved (CC BY)","fetchedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},"evidence":[{"source":"fps-eastern-us","verdict":"avoid","verdictRaw":"NOT Firewise (4)","claims":"Early flower clusters are waxy, creamy, small-very susceptible to lace bug.","sourcePlacement":{"value":"LZ2","scheme":"fps-landscape-zone"},"edition":"2016-wayback","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-b921","verdict":"avoid","verdictRaw":"H flammability","claims":"Requires acid, moist, and well-drained soils; disease sensitive.","sourcePlacement":{"value":"do not plant within 5 ft of structures (keep out of Zone 1)","scheme":"b921-siting"},"edition":"2006","url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20070714035936/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/ohio_plantlist.pdf","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"va-firescapes","verdict":"avoid","verdictRaw":"H flammability","claims":"Protect from wind desiccation. Requires soils with lower pH.","edition":"2009","url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20090709143736/http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-300/430-300.pdf","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firesmart-bc","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"FireSmart-approved fire-resistant plant","claims":"Flagged by FireSmart BC as needing more research.","url":"https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/fire-resistant-plants/","accessedOn":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"firewise-uk-dorset-leaflet-2024","verdict":"avoid","verdictRaw":"Red traffic-light class — Japanese Andromeda","claims":"The leaflet warns that dead, dry parts can produce flames over 2.5 m and advises against planting it directly beside a home or shed.","plantPart":"whole-plant","edition":"2024-10","url":"https://www.dorsetheaths.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Firewise-Planting-Leaflet.pdf","documentDate":"2024-10-22T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"msu-e2948","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"considered wildfire-resistant and are recommended for Michigan’s climate","claims":"Table 1 row: Pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda).","edition":"New, January 2007","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","documentDate":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"girona-pirojardineria-2020","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"RECOMENDADA","claims":"Pieris japonica is rated “RECOMENDADA” by the guide's qualitative IUF garden-suitability method. The method assumes species-specific care and integrates fire evidence with fuel structure, maintenance, origin, invasiveness, and expert fire-service experience.","sourcePlacement":{"value":"suitable inside or outside the 25-metre maximum-risk zone","scheme":"girona-2020-iuf-25m-suitability"},"edition":"2020 Spanish edition","url":"https://interior.gencat.cat/web/.content/home/030_arees_dactuacio/bombers/foc_forestal/publicacions_tecniques_i_normativa/guies_tecniques/prevencio_i_extincio/2020_Guia_de_pirojardineria_es.pdf","documentDate":"2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"tadaki-kira-fire-classification","verdict":"mixed","verdictRaw":"小","score":{"value":1,"scale":"tadaki-kira-fire-protection-power-0-3"},"claims":"Table 10-2 prints アセビ in the small fire-protection-power class. The Kagoshima reproduction says highly fire-protective trees can slow spread, promote upward dispersal of heat and smoke, and intercept flying embers.","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"アセビ — Table 10-2","scheme":"tadaki-kira-1982-fire-protection-power"},"edition":"Hito to Shinrin (1982), Table 10-2; Kagoshima web reproduction","url":"https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/ah12/kurashi-kankyo/sumai/kankyo/hoshin3/theme10/273.html","documentDate":"1982-11-01T00:00:00.000Z","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"canberra-plant-selector","verdict":"recommend","verdictRaw":"Fire Retardant — Yes — Pieris japonica","claims":"The live Canberra Plant Selector marks “Pieris japonica” as “Fire Retardant: Yes.”","plantPart":"whole-plant","sourcePlacement":{"value":"filtered result page 11","scheme":"canberra-selector"},"edition":"live tool capture 2026-08-25","url":"https://plantselector.com.au/browse-plants/?fire_retardant%5B0%5D=1","accessedOn":"2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z"}],"flammabilityClass":"mixed-evidence","ratingReason":"disputed","recommendation":"conflict","author":"grayson-graham","reviewStatus":"draft","lastVerified":"2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z","reviewNotes":"Photo auto-selected (top-voted iNat); human review pending."},"localAssessmentInputs":{"stateDistribution":["DC","DE","MD","NJ","OH","PA","WV"],"nativeStates":[],"rangeAssertions":[{"relation":"introduced","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["MA"],"regions":["TDWG level 1 7 — NORTHERN AMERICA","TDWG level 2 75 — Northeastern U.S.A.","TDWG level 3 MAS — Massachusetts"]},"occurrenceStatus":"present","presenceStatus":"extant","source":"wcvp-v16","sourceVersion":"16","asOf":"2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"relation":"introduced","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["VT"],"regions":["TDWG level 1 7 — NORTHERN AMERICA","TDWG level 2 75 — Northeastern U.S.A.","TDWG level 3 VER — Vermont"]},"occurrenceStatus":"present","presenceStatus":"extant","source":"wcvp-v16","sourceVersion":"16","asOf":"2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"relation":"documented-occurrence","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["DC","DE","MD","NJ","OH","PA","WV"]},"provenance":"legacy-field"}],"usdaZoneMin":"5a","usdaZoneMax":null,"hardinessAssertions":[{"minimum":"5","interpretation":"ambiguous-single-value","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.","source":"fps-eastern-us","sourceRecordId":"pieris-japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record","sourceVersion":"2016-wayback","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"4","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Pieris japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"7a","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":2,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"USDA PLANTS provides no duration for this record, so perennial hardiness applicability is unresolved.","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PIJA3","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 65309, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}],"hardinessSelection":{"status":"selected","assertion":{"minimum":"4","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Pieris japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},"assertions":[{"minimum":"5","interpretation":"ambiguous-single-value","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.","source":"fps-eastern-us","sourceRecordId":"pieris-japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record","sourceVersion":"2016-wayback","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"4","maximum":"7","interpretation":"explicit-range","precision":"whole-zone","zoneMapping":"source-stated","applicability":"applicable","source":"msu-e2948","sourceRecordId":"shrub:Pieris japonica","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"exact","sourcePlacement":"Table 1, shrub row","sourceVersion":"New, January 2007","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"},{"minimum":"7a","interpretation":"minimum-threshold","precision":"half-zone","zoneMapping":"derived-containing-band","sourceMeasurement":{"kind":"minimum-temperature","value":2,"unit":"degrees-fahrenheit"},"applicability":"uncertain","applicabilityNotes":"USDA PLANTS provides no duration for this record, so perennial hardiness applicability is unresolved.","source":"usda-plants-characteristics","sourceRecordId":"PIJA3","sourceTaxon":"Pieris japonica","taxonMatch":"source-identifier","sourcePlacement":"PlantCharacteristics record 65309, Temperature, Minimum (°F)","sourceVersion":"PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23","asOf":"2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z","provenance":"cited"}]},"invasiveIn":[],"statusAssertions":[{"status":"introduced-established","channel":"ecological","geography":{"grain":"aggregate-region","regions":["L48"]},"source":"us-riis-v2","sourceRecordId":"USRIIS-L48-Plantae12760","sourceVersion":"2.0 (November 2022)","asOf":"2022-10-23T00:00:00.000Z","sourceModified":"2020-02-21T00:00:00.000Z","sourceTaxon":{"name":"Pieris japonica","rank":"species","rawRank":"Species"},"sourceDesignation":{"code":"C3","label":"established (category C3)"},"associatedReferences":["Kleunen et al. (2018), https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecy.2542"],"taxonProjection":{"basis":"exact-taxon","notes":"exact source identifier, rank, family, and scientific/accepted name"},"provenance":"cited"}],"fireEvidenceClass":"mixed-evidence","recommendation":"conflict","fireSourceScopes":[{"source":"msu-e2948","sourceName":"Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948)","sourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070714035839/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/mi_wildfire_resistant.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["MI"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2948 is explicitly a list of wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan and includes a Michigan-native field. FireApproved publishes 221 exact GBIF owners from 226 represented source rows and holds 15 complex or non-exact rows. This dated publication scope is not a current site-suitability determination.","sourceVersion":"MSU-Extension-E2948-2007","asOf":"2007-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"osu-b921","sourceName":"Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921)","sourceUrl":"http://web.archive.org/web/20070714035936/http://www.firewise.org/usa/files/ohio_plantlist.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["OH"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.","sourceVersion":"OSU-Extension-Bulletin-921-2006","asOf":"2006-03-01T00:00:00.000Z"},{"source":"va-firescapes","sourceName":"Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300)","sourceUrl":"http://web.archive.org/web/20090709143736/http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-300/430-300.pdf","geography":{"grain":"state","stateCodes":["VA"]},"completeness":"partial","reviewStatus":"reviewed","scope":"Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.","sourceVersion":"Virginia-VCE-430-300-2009","asOf":"2009-04-15T00:00:00.000Z"}],"firePerformanceConditions":[],"maintenanceAssertions":[],"maintenanceConditions":null,"regulatoryReviews":{},"seedReviews":{}},"legacyCompatibilityProjection":{"nativeStates":[],"invasiveIn":[],"usdaZoneMin":"4","usdaZoneMax":"7"},"localAssessmentContract":"Compare each dimension separately. State noxious-weed seed designations are material-scoped and never become non-seed plant restrictions, ecological-invasive findings, nursery restrictions, alternatives, product evidence, or fire votes. Introduced/established context is not an invasive warning. Minimum-only hardiness has no inferred maximum; canonical source-temperature conversion is validated and contradictory applicable rows project no primary zone. L48 context applies only to conterminous states and is never exact-state status. Fire-performance conditions are not maintenance advice. FEIS fire-ecology context does not vote in the plant classification. Absence of a status row is not regulatory clearance."}