80 



OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



are abundant, and the handsome Pittosporum tobira, often seen 

 in Californian gardens. The magnolia family is also well repre- 

 sented. More suggestive of the tropics are several epiphytic or- 

 chids (Dendrobium, Malaxis and others), as well as a good many 

 epiphytic ferns. Begonias, peppers, and several members of the 

 banana family (Scitamineae) are also reminiscent of the tropics. 



Fig. 16. — Two favorite garden flowers from Japan; Anemone Japonica, 



Liliuin duration. 



Owing to the close cultivation of the land there is not much to 

 be seen of the native vegetation in the densely populated areas 

 near Yokohama and Kyoto. Along the roadside banks and 

 ditches, a few wild plants find a foothold, one of the most pe- 

 culiar, in summer, being Houttuynia, closely related to the lizard- 

 tail (Saururus) of eastern America, but having four white bracts 

 subtending the spike of flowers. 



Not infrequently one catches a glimpse from the car windows of 



