1920] WILSON, LIUKIU 



173 



longifli 



plants which from Japan have been widely distributed over the world. 



Naha, the chief port of Okinawa Island, is reached by steamer from Kago- 

 shinia from which it is distant 415 miles. The steamers ply weekly but 

 they are small and the passage is seldom a pleasant one. The journey is 

 past the islands of Tanega and Yaku and the group islets, mostly uninhab- 

 ited, known as the Kawanabe Islands which are strung out toward Oshima, 

 the most northern of the Liukius proper. The island of Yaku is important 

 phytogeographically as rej>resenting generally the southern limit of the 

 Japanese flora. The Kawanabe Islands are all small and have very little 

 vegetation but such as it is belongs in character to the Liukiu group. The 

 chief port of Oshima is Naze which is favored with a small, safe anchor- 



age. 



unity to spend a few hours 



there and was able to collect a number of plants. 



Oshima is a bold, mountainous island with a rugged coast line. The high- 

 est peak is Yuwan-dake 865 m. above sea-level From the sea the mountain 

 slopes appear to be well-forested, chiefly with Pine. Okinawa has a much- 

 indented coast line. The northern half of the island is decidedly moun- 

 tainous, though the highest peak does not exceed 500 metres; the southern 

 half is undulating. Geologically Okinawa is largely composed of coral 

 rock, with granite trap ejected here and there by submarine volcanic 

 action. The Karama Islands wxst of Okinawa are mainly of volcanic origin 

 and on one of them copper is mined. The vegetation of all the islands is 

 essentially evergreen, the scenery is pleasing and I do not think I have 

 visited a prettier land. On Okinawa, Pabn and Pine meet and the effect 



is striking. 



iferta 



Pari, clothes the sandy foreshore at and above tide-mark, with it grows 



tectorius Soland., Hernandia veltata Me 



mus 



luchuensis Mayr. with Didymospermn Engleri Warb. and Asplenium 

 nidus var. intermedia Mett. as undergrowth. Nowhere else in the Orient 



curious 



The flora of the Liukiu Islands is not properly known. Japanese bot- 

 anists have described quite a number of plants from these islands, but the 

 references are much scattered and considerable work remains to be done. 

 The first plants collected on the islands were gathered by the officers of 

 the English war-ships, commanded by Captain Basil Hall, who visited the 

 islands in 1816, These specimens were subsequently lost at sea. The 



Beecl 



Arnott 



plants. Since Beechey's voyage a number of small collections have been 

 made but Liukiu plants are today rare in western herbaria. The partic- 

 ular object of my visit was to study the species of Pine and Juniper known 

 to grow there and incidentally to collect as many dried specimens as pos- 

 sible. In all I spent about three weeks in Okinawa and gathered 150 species 

 of woody plants. 



