376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1952 



On going north one's spirits rise as he meets the first aggregation 

 of large, untouched, flat-topped Luchu Island pines. From then on 

 the vegetation lends a more peaceful and pleasing aspect. Less weedy 

 thickets line the highway, and the villages are better hidden among 

 protecting trees. Most striking among the cultivated trees in almost 

 every village is the "fukugi," Garcinia spicata, a dark-green, thick- 

 leaved introduction from southern Asia, its shape reminding western- 

 ers of the lombardy poplar. It grows in close rows along the streets or 

 property lines, and, because of its slow growth, one can guess from the 

 size of its "fukugi" trees the age of a village. 



The road north on either side of the island follows the shore closely, 

 for inland the hills and mountains become ever more rugged. Hence, 

 one sees many littoral trees and shrubs, mostly unfamiliar to those of 

 continental temperate climates. Common among them are: Her- 

 nandia sonora (Hernandia ovigera) (Hernandiaceae) ; "wild bean," 

 Pongamia pinnata (Leguminosae) ; sea hibiscus, Hibiscus tiliaceus, 

 and Portia tree, Thespesia popidnea (Malvaceae) ; Alexandrian lau- 

 rel, Calophyllum inophyllum (Guttiferae) ; Indian almond, Termi- 

 nalia catappa (Combretaceae) ; Cerbera manghas and Lactaria iwasa- 

 kiana (Apocynaceae) ; velvet-leaf tree, Messerschmidia argentea 

 (Boraginaceae) ; Premna obtusifolia (Verbenaceae) ; Guettarda spe- 

 ciosa (Rubiaceae) ; Scaevola fi x utescens (Goodeniaceae) ; and thatch 

 screwpine, Pandanus tectorius var. liukiuensis. Perhaps the last is the 

 most striking and characteristic tree or shrub of the shores (pi. 10, 

 upper) and the higher wastes, and a very useful plant for thatch, hat- 

 weaving materials, and other products. But its most important func- 

 tions is to protect the areas behind it from the sea and wind. 



Near Gesashi village on the east coast of Okinawa above the mid- 

 dle, we visited a typical mangrove swamp where a stream flowed into 

 a bay. There on the exposed muddy tidal flat stood the character- 

 istic mangrove tree, Rhizophora mucronata, on its conspicuous and 

 somewhat ridiculous stilt or prop roots. Its associates were the red- 

 flowered Bruguiera conjugata and the white-flowered Kandelia candel. 

 Other typical mangrove associates were there, all properly zoned 

 toward the higher and drier land. Mangrove swamps, however, 

 were better developed and more significant in the southern islands 

 (pi. 10, upper and lower). 



All the land that can be cultivated is, of course, given over to crops. 

 From the beach sands to far up on the mountains are cultivated 

 fields (pi. 4). Where rice can be irrigated by gravity, that is the 

 staple crop. But the largest crop is the sweetpotato, grown every- 

 where on level ground and on terraced hillsides, with grassy ridges 

 between the sloping fields, carefully protected from erosion by well- 

 tended vegetation, which often included the characteristic cycad. 



