36 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM [vol. h 



throiiglxout this forest-zone but most j)]entiful between altitudes of 2000 

 and 2500 m. Its maximum height is about 180 ft. and the girth of the 

 Largest tree known is 64 ft. The average height is from 120 to loO ft. and 

 the girth from 30 to 40 ft. One old felled specimen showed two thousand 

 seven liundred amiual rings, so if this beany guide the age of the trees must 

 be from two thousand five hundred to three thousand years, and very few 

 trees of a younger generation are to l)e found. The trunks of many of the 

 trees are liollow, some mere shells, but very few dead trees occur either 

 standing or on the ground. Some fifty feet or so above tlic base tlie trunks 

 divide into from three to several erect stems. The lateral branches are 

 slender, short and spreading, the crown thin and tapering, and much of the 

 foliage is usually brownisli. These old trees are far from handsome but 

 the bulk of tlicir enormous trunks is most impressive. The Cimninghamia 

 like the Taiwaula is a rare tree only found here and there in tlie forest. It is 

 nearly as tall as the Taiwania but more slender and is neitlier impressive 

 nor handsome. At one time these three old tyi)es probal>]y formed pure 



forests, the Chamaecyparis at a later date than tlie others, bul unable to 

 withstand I he competition of aggressive broad-leaf trees ascending from 

 below, they liave lost suj^remacy. Neither beneath their own shade nor in 

 the dense forests are seedlings or young plants of these trees to be found, 

 but in glades, where landslides have taken place, and on Ari-san, where 

 clearings have l)een made to aeconnnodate a railroad, 3^oung seedling plants 

 of the Cliamaecyparis in particular are quite connnon. 



INIucli more handsome is Chamaecyparis ohtusa vav,formosana Hay. with 

 its shapely, oval, bright green crown and straight trunk. Its height is 

 about the same as that of the Big Tree, but in girth it Is seldom more than 

 thirty feet and usually loss. The trunk is solid, of even thickness for a 

 considera!>le height, and the timber more valual)le than that of any other 

 soft-wood tree found in eastern Asia. This tree reaches its maximum devel- 

 opment between 2500 and 2800 m. in the Ari-san region, and on Mt. Taihcl 

 in Giran ]:irefceture there are wonderful forests of it between altitudes of 

 2000 and 2500 m. At one time Pinvs morrisonicola Hay. douljticss formed 

 extensive forests on the more steep and rocky mountains, but to-day it is 

 found scattered or in small groves among mixed trees. It is nowhere abun- 

 dant, but on Matsu-yama near Ari-san grow the largest trees Lhat I have 

 seen. Between llorishaand ^Nlusha it is not uncommon, but the trees are 

 small. It appears to favor cliffs and mountain peaks where it has opportu- 

 nity to overloj) its neighbors. Piniis Armandi Franch. is sonictimcs found 

 on cliffs and among mixed trees, but it is seen to best advantage in open 

 grassy country. West of Ari-san on grass-clad slopes and between Musha 

 and Noko this tree is abundant and attains a far greater si/c !han it does in 

 central and western China. Trees from one hundred to oiu* hundred and 

 twenty feet high and twenty feet in girth of trunk are conniion. The other 

 Pine (P. taiicanensis Hay.) forms pure woods in open country and is rarely 

 found elsewhere. The Juniper prefers rocky places, and may be either a 

 j)rostrate bush or a shai)ely little tree with hanging branrhlets, and from 



