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Introduction
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The 4th Conference of the
International Carnivorous Plant Society
(ICPS) The 4th Conference of the International Carnivorous Plant Society was held in Tokyo on June 21-23, 2002. There were 140 people registered for the conference. A total of 21 papers were presented. In addition, some 250 un-registered visitors came to the open-to-public area of the conference site that included large exhibition areas of live plants and posted panels describing various aspects of carnivorous plants, as well as plants shops and hard-to-find CP book sales. The high level of the conference is easily seen by looking at the caliber of presenters and the subject matters which they presented. (PRESENTATIONS) For all the participants, this was a rare chance to rub shoulders with world-class CP researchers from all over the world. June is traditionally a notorious "rainy season" (tsu-yu) in Japan and the beginning of the dog-day summer. This year, we enjoyed unseasonably cool weather, and during this conference, we were blessed with a sunny-to-cloudy condition without major rain. During the lunch breaks of 21 & 22, many of us went out to various quaint eateries scattered around the conference site within walking distance. Unusually cool air made the walk quite enjoyable. On the 3rd day, the conference was concluded by Conference Chair, Prof. K. Kondo, with a concluding remark by Dr. D. M. Joel. Some conference participants registered for the excursion to Mt. Koshin, a natural habitat of Piguicula ramosa, the only endemic species in Japan, confined to Mt. Koshin and a few surrounding areas. A total of 40 people participated in this excursion (including some 20 foreign visitors to Japan). Right after the conference at 12:30pm, these participants had only a few minutes to grab a bite or two of the sandwiches prepared by the conference before they were rushed to the waiting bus for the Nikko district where Mt. Koshin is situated. (I did not participate so I do not know how the mountain weather treated them.)
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