Fagus 



far as he saw, always mixed with other trees, though Goto says ' that it occurs in 

 Honshu and in the southern half of Hokkaido in almost unmixed woods, and that 

 in Aomori, Iwate, Echigo, and Yamagata, pure woods of vast dimensions are seen 

 in the mountains above looo feet elevation. It is one of the most important trees 

 for firewood and charcoal, but little valued for building. It grows well in shade, 

 and cor'^inues to grow to a great age, sometimes attaining enormous size. The 

 Ainos in old Japan are said to have used the tree for dug-out canoes. The largest 

 trees measured by Elwes were in the Government forest of Atera, in the district of 

 Kisogawa, where there were tall straight trees in mixed deciduous forests of beech, 

 magnolia, oak, birch, and maple, about lOO feet high and 9-10 feet in girth. 

 Here the wood was not of sufficient value to pay the expense of carriage. 



Fagus sinensis. 



Fagus sinensis, Oliver, in Hook. Icon. Plant, t. 1936 (1891); Diels, Flora von Central China, 284 



(1901). 

 Fagus sylvatica, L., var. longipes, Oliver, in scheda ad Hook. Icon. Plant, t. 1936 (1891); Franchet, 



Jour, de Bat. 1899, p. 90. 

 Fagus longipetiolata, v. Seamen, in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. xxiii. Beibl. 57, p. 56 (1897). 



This tree was discovered by Henry in the mountains south of the Yangtse, 

 near Ichang, in Central China. It occurs scattered in deciduous forests at 3000-4000 

 feet altitude, and sometimes attains a considerable size, one tree being noted as 15 

 feet in girth. Von Rosthorn subsequently found the same species in the mountains 

 south of Chungking, in Szechuan. 



Fagus Engleriana. 



Fagus Engleriana, v. Seemen, in Diels, Mora von Central China, 285, cum figura (1901). 



Fagus sylvatica, L., var. longipes, Oliver, "var. bracteolis involucri exterioribus spatulalim dilatatis," 



Oliver, in scheda ad Hook, Icon. Plant, t. 1936 (1891). 

 Fagus sylvatica, L., var. chinensis, Franchet, y^wr. de Bot. 1899, p. 201. 



This species was also discovered by Henry, but in the mountains north of the 

 Yangtse from Ichang in Central China. Subsequently specimens were sent to 

 Europe by Pere Farges from North- East Szechuan, and by von Rosthorn from 

 Southern Szechuan. It is a smaller tree than F. sinensis, and was seen by Henry on 

 wooded cliffs. 



Neither of the Chinese beeches form pure woods. A beech of considerable 

 size was seen by Henry in Yunnan, in a mountain wood near Mengtse, at about 

 5000 feet elevation, and is possibly a distinct species. This rare tree is remark- 

 able in that it extends the southern limit of the northern beeches to as low as 

 23 N. 



' Forestry of Japan (1904), p. 22. 



