PINACEAE. CRYPTOMERIA 67 



to be covered with dwarf Bamboo, Rhododendron Metternichii S. & Z., Juniper and 

 miscellaneous scrub, but at the time of my visit everything was hidden in snow. 

 Fully 99 per cent, of this forest preserve is of evergreen trees, of which 60 per cent, 

 are conifers. Cryptomeria forms fully 50 per cent, of the entire forest. Of other 

 conifers Tsuga Sieboldii Carr., Abies firma S. & Z. and scattered trees of Chamaecy- 

 paris obtusa S. & Z. and Torreya nucifera S. & Z. make the other 10 per cent. Of 

 broad-leaved evergreen trees Trochodendron aralioides S. & Z., Distylium racemosum 

 S. & Z., Thea japonica Nois. and T. Sasanqua Nois. represent 30 per cent., while 

 Daphniphyllum macropodum Miq., D. glaucescens Bl., Michelia compressa Maxim., 

 Myrica rubra S. & Z., various Oaks, Hollies and Lauraceae form the other 9 per 

 cent. Stewartia monadelpha S. & Z. forms half of the 1 per cent, of the deciduous 

 trees and the remainder is made up of Acanthopanax ricinifolius Seem., Evodia 

 glauca Miq., Aleurites cordala R. Br., Clethra barbinervis S. & Z., Maples and trees 

 which I did not recognize. The principal undershrubs are Skimmia japonica 

 Thunb., Eurya japonica Thunb., Damnacanthus indicus Gaertn., Pieris japonica 

 D. Don, Rhododendron Tashiroi Maxim., R. indicum Sweet (sides of torrents), 

 Chloranthus brachystachys Bl., Ardisia crispa D.C., A. Sieboldii Miq., Illicium 

 anisatum L., Daphniphyllum macropodum Miq. and Gilibertia trifida Mak. The last 

 three are plentiful as shrubs, but they also grow into small trees. Climbing plants 

 are comparatively few, but Hydrangea petiolaris S. & Z. is plentiful and climbs to 

 the tops of the tallest trees. Schizophragma hydrangeoides S. & Z. is common on 

 old stumps and trunks of low trees, Stauntonia hexaphylla Decaisn. is rare and Rhus 

 orientalis Schneid., with thick rope-like stems, is fairly common. Ivy (Hedera 

 japonica Tobl.) I did not see in the forest depths, but it was frequent on the 

 ascent soon after leaving the savannah. The forest floor and tree trunks support 

 an extraordinary rich Cryptogamic flora; nowhere else, not even on famed Mt. 

 Omei, in western China, have I seen such a wealth of this vegetation. Ferns, espe- 

 cially of the genus Hymenophyllum, in wonderful variety grow on the granite 

 rocks, tree-trunks, dead stumps, and rotting logs and with them Mosses, Liver- 

 worts, Lichens and Fungi in endless form and shape. Phanerogamic herbs are 

 scarce, but on boulders in and along the sides of torrents Astilbe japonica Miq. 

 abounds. The mountain slopes are very steep and the granite blocks are heaped 

 one upon another in vast confusion. Here and there a yellow, greasy clay is in 

 evidence, but the soil of the forest floor is mainly composed of rotting vegetation. 

 There are no open spaces, but everywhere dense primeval forest. The flora is a 

 wonderful Cryptogamic kingdom with a few low shrubs under a vast evergreen 

 canopy. To me the most interesting and remarkable forest in all Japan is this on 

 Yaku-shima, where the Cryptomeria has its southern home. 



In that part of the forest I visited no felling is being done now, and until some 

 special arrangements are made it is next to impossible to get the lumber down to 

 the coast. The wood of fallen trees is made into shingles and carried out on men's 

 backs, but that is all that is being done at present. In old times these forests were 

 known and logs for the pillars and columns of temples were exported to Korea, 

 China and other eastern countries. The Yaku-sugi, as this Cryptomeria is called, 

 is famed throughout Japan and its wood commands a much higher price in the 

 market than that of the same tree from anywhere else in the empire. 



From the foregoing description of these forests it will be seen that the Crypto- 

 meria enjoys a rich soil, good drainage and an abundant rainfall. On Yaku-shima 

 it is most abundant on the west and north slopes, where its maximum height is 

 about 40 m. and the average trees are from 30 to 35 m. tall. Most of the oldest trees 



