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trees are Liquidambar orientalis, the Box (Buxus sempervirens), the Chesnut (Castanea 

 sativa) the Elm (Ulmus campestris), Junipers (Juniperus communis, J. excelsa, and J. 

 fcetidissima which extends to Armenia) the Poplar (Populus alba) and the Yew (Taxus 

 baccata)' 



Tn Syria, the central mountains of the Lebanon are wooded. Up to a height of 

 1,600 feet, characteristic trees are Ceratouia sitiqua (carob) and Pinus Pinea ; Melia 

 Azedarach (Syringa) and Ficus Sycamorus are also found, but the great mass of vegeta- 

 tion is scrubby. Between 1,600 and 3,200 feet, there are Fontanesia phyllyceoides t 

 Acer Syriacum, and dwarf hard leaved oaks. Between 3,700 and 4,200 feet Pinus 

 JBrutia is common. The zone between 4,200 and 6,200 feet is characterised by 

 Cupressus sempervirens, the Cypress, and Pinus Cedrus, the cedar of Lebanon ; with 

 which are associated Ostrya carpinifolia (Hop Hornbeam), Quercus Mellul, Q. cerris 

 (Turkey Oak), Q. subalpina. Pinus Cilicia the Cilician silver fir. occurs sparingly. 

 Next come Junipers : Juniperus excelsa, J. drupacea and J. rafescens. Above this zone 

 there are only a few stunted oaks and junipers. The mean temperature at Beyrouth, at 

 sea level, is 68 F., so that the climate is similar to that of Natal. 



Persia, which comes next within the belt examined is said to be poorly wooded, but 

 there are some oaks, the beech (Fagus sylvatica), the elm ( Ulmus campestris), the walnut 

 (Juglaus regid), the plane (Platanus orientalis) , the sycamore (Acer pseudo-platanus), the 

 ash (Fraxinus excelsior), the yew (Taxus baccata), the Box (Buxus sempervirens), Junipers 

 (Juniperus communis, J. excelsa and J. Phoenicia), the chesnut (Castinea sativa), the Black 

 Mulberry (Morus nit/ra), poplars (Populus alba, and P. tremuld), willows (Salto 

 Babylonica, S. fragilis, S. alba and S. triandrd). Few trees peculiar to the country have 

 been described. 



Himalayan Region. This extends from the Hindu-Kush in Afghnnistan to Assam, 

 along the Himalayan range. A great belt of forest country called the Teria stretches 

 along the southern spurs of the Himalayas. In the Himalayan region, the Deodar (Pinus 

 Cedrus, var. Deodard), a variety of the cedar of Lebanon, is the most valuable tree ; it 

 forms forests, sometimes pure, at 3-12,000 feet, in the mountains of Afghanistan, 

 Kashmir, the North West Himalaya and Western Tibet. Ranking next are Pinus excelsa 

 ("Kail" or Bootan pine), often associated with the deodar at 5-12,000 feet, and Pinus 

 longifolia, the "chir," which forms gregarious forests at 2,000-9,000 feet. Other 

 Himalayan conifers are Pinus Webbiana (King pine) found at 7-13,000 feet, P. Pindrow, 

 at 8-12,000, P. Smithiana, at 6-11,000, P. Brunoniana, at 8-10,500, P. Gerrardiana, the 

 Nepal nut-pine, at 10-12,000, P. Griffithii, the Himalayan Larch, at 8-12,000, Cupressus 

 torulosa, the Nepal cypress, at 4,500-8,000, Juniperus communis, found up to 14,000 feet, 

 J. recurva, at 7,500-15,000, J. Wallichiana and Taxus baccata, the common yew. 



Non-coniferous trees are Cedrela Taona, the Toon, found up to 8,000 feet, Dalbergia 

 Sissoo (Sissoo) extending to Afghanistan, found up to 5,000 feet, D. latifolia (Blackwood) 

 Quercus dilatata, found from the Himalayas to Afghanistan, at 4,500-10,000 feet, 

 Q. incana, found at 3-8,000 feet, Q. lancifolia, Q. semecarpifolia, the largest oak of India, 

 found up to 10,000 feet, Q. Ilex (Holly oak), also up to 10,000 feet, Q. squamata, 

 Q. annulata, a large Nepal evergreen, Fraxinus ftoribunda, the Nepal ash, found at 

 5-11,000 feet, Ulmus Wallichiana, an elm at 3,50010,000 feet, Michelia excelsa, up to 

 7,000 feet, associated with several other species of the genus, Hloptelea integrifolia, the 

 elm of India, Populus alba, found at 4-10,000 feet, P. ciliata, with the same range, 

 P. nigra, found up to 12,500 feet, juglans regia (walnut), and Pyrularia edulis, a large 

 tree found in Nepal Khasia and Sikkim. 



At the base of the Himalayan forests, and up to 3,000 feet, there are, from Assam to 

 the Sutlej, principally in the great Ganges Valley, forests of Sal (Shorea robusta), the 

 chief gregarious tree of India. Ficus elastica, 'the Assam Rubber-tree, grows in rocky 

 valleys of the Himalayas, with a moist tropical atmosphere. 



Some of the mst valuable trees of India are found in a tropical zone where the mean 

 temperature exceeds 80 ; particularly the teak (Tectona grandis), satin wood 

 (Chloroxylon Sivietenia), Sandal wood (Santalum album), red sandalwood (Ptero- 

 carpus Santalinum), and the various kinds of ebony (Pterocarpus). Other noticeable 

 trees are Cupressus lusitanica, the cedar of Goa, planted largely in Portugal, Melaleuca 

 leucadendron, the Cajaput tree, Melia Azedarach, the Syringa, and Terminalia Catappa. 



The best sources of information about Indian trees are Sir D. Brandis' Forest Flora 

 of North- West and Central India, and Mr. J. S. Gamble's Manual of Indian Timbers. 



China. The forests of China are very imperfectly known. Those on the mountains 



