Introduction 



higher mountains occur many boreal species extending into 

 this area from more northerly latitudes. 



WARM-TEMPERATE REGION 



This area embraces the coastal areas of southern Honshu, 

 Shikoku, and the Pacific side of Kyushu, with a warm-temper- 

 ate to subtropical climate influenced by the warm Japan Cur- 

 rent {Kuroshio) from the southwest Pacific Ocean. This area 

 is dominated largely by evergreen woody species, especially 

 broad-leaved angiosperms. The heavy well-distributed precipi- 

 tation of usually more than 60 inches per annum in this region 

 results in a lush vegetation containing many plants with more 

 southern affinities. Some common plants characteristic of this 

 warm-temperate region are: 



Broad-leaved Evergreen Trees and Shrubs 



Camellia japonica 

 Cinnamomum spp. 

 Cleyera japonica 

 Daphniphylhim macropodti 

 Distylitim racemosutn 

 Elaeocarpus japomcus 

 Elaeocarpus sylvestris 

 Eurya japonica 



Cryptomeria japonica 

 Pinus densiflora 



(in the secondary forest belt) 



Actinidia rufa 

 Hedera rhombea 

 Hosiea japonica 

 Kadsura japonica 



Clethra barbinervis 

 Euscaphis japonica 

 Idesia polycarpa 

 Mallotus japonicus 

 Prunus jamasaktira 

 Prunus lannesiana 



Itea japonica 

 Machilus spp. 

 Myrica rubra 

 Prunus spinulosa 

 Prunus zippeliana 

 Quercus spp. 

 Symplocos spp. 

 Trochodendron aralioides 



Podocarpus macrophyllu 

 Podocarpus nagi 



Piper kadsura 



Trachelospermum asiaticum 

 Uncaria rhynchophylla 



Deciduous Trees 



Rhus javanica 

 Rhus succedanea 

 Rhus trichocarpa 

 Styrax japonica 

 Zanthoxylum ailanthoides 



Shrubby and Herbaceous Species 



Alocasitt spp. 

 Ardisia crenata 

 Ardisia sieboldii 

 Arundinaria 



(in forest understory) 

 Arundo donax 

 Broussonetia \aempferi 

 Broussonetia k.azino\i 



Euryale jerox 

 Nelumbo nucifera 

 Nuphar japonicum 



Debregeasia edulis 

 Dicliptera japonica 

 Fatsia japonica 

 Nandina domestica 

 Pseudopyxis sp. 

 Rhododendron spp. 

 Rubus irifidus 

 Villebrunea jrutescens 



Aquatics 



Nymphaea tetragona 

 Potamogeton spp. 



Marsh Plants 



Epilobium pyrricholophum 

 Eriocattlon spp. 

 Lycopus lucidus 

 Miscanthus sacchariflorus 

 Phragmites spp. 



Polygonum spp. 

 Rhynchospora spp. 

 Typha spp. 

 Zizania latijolia 



Plants of Rocky Places in Mountains 



Calamagrostis ha\onensis Potentilla spp. 



Carex spp. Rhododendron spp. 



Stages of Succession in the Warm-temperate Region 

 The pioneer herbaceous plants which invade cut-over lands 

 consist chiefly of Miscanthus sinensis, M. floridulus, Imperata, 

 Themeda, Smilax china, Lespedeza, Rubus, and Rhododen- 

 dron. The commonest pioneer woody species in many areas are 

 Pinus densiflora, Mallotus japonicus, Clethra barbinervis, Calli- 

 carpa japonica, and deciduous species of Symplocos. In the final 

 stages of forest succession, evergreen species of Quercus and 

 Cinnamomum reappear as climax dominants. 



Arundo donax 

 Calystegia soldanella 

 Canavalia lineata 

 Cnidium japonicum 

 Ischaemum aristatum 



Coastal Dunes 



Limonium tetragonum 

 Messerschmidia sibirica 

 Wedelia prostrata 

 Zoysia macrostachys 



Zone Between the Dunes and Coniferous Forest 



Euonymus japonicus Pittosporum tobira 



Eurya emarginata Quercus phillyraeoides 



Hibiscus hamabo Rosa wichuraiana 



Juniperus chinensis var. Ternstroemia gymnanthera 



procumbens Vitex rotundijolia 

 Litsea japonica 



Subtropical Elements of Southern Kyushu, Tanegashima, 

 Yakushima, and Aoshima 



Ardisia sieboldii 

 Caesalpinia nuga 

 Cassytha filijormis 

 Cycas revoluta 

 Entada phaseoloides 

 Ficus microcarpa 

 Glochidion hong^ongense 

 Ipomoea pes-caprae 

 Kandelia candel 



Livistona chinensis 

 Melastoma candidum 

 Messerschmidia argentea 

 Microstegium ciliatum 

 Myoporum bontioides 

 Osbec^ia chinensis 

 Schefflera octophylla 

 Spinifex littoreus 

 Tree-ferns 



On rocks in fast-running streams in the low mountains of 

 southern Kyushu and Yakushima are found Cladopus and 

 Hydrobryum, both of the Podostemaceae. These are quite re- 

 markable members of the Japanese flora, since these genera are 

 primarily tropical with a distribution centering in India and 

 Malaysia. 



The Laurisylvae or broad-leaved evergreen forest extends 

 northward along both the Pacific side and the Japan Sea coast 

 of Honshu to about 38° N. latitude, where the deciduous forest 

 species become the dominant element of the woody vegetation. 

 Deciduous forest species, such as Quercus acutissima, Q. serrata, 

 Castanea crenata, Acer spp., Carpinus laxiflora, C. tschonos\ii, 

 Alnus japonica, and A. sieboldiana, are mixed with evergreen 

 species. Evergreen trees native in the vicinity of Tokyo are 

 represented only by a few species of evergreen Quercus, Casta- 

 nopsis, Machilus, and a few others. 



Areas of continental eastern Asia that correspond most 

 closely with the warm-temperate parts of Japan are the low- 

 land and hilly areas from southern Korea to the Yangtze Val- 

 ley and the mountainous regions of Chekiang, Fukien, Hunan, 

 Szechuan, Kwangsi, Kweichow, and Yunnan, and from For- 

 mosa to the western part of Sikang to the highlands of the 

 Himalayas, Burma, and Indochina. 



Significant genera found in both China and in Japan include 

 Trochodendron, Loropetalum, Chi\usichloa, Cryptomeria, Elli- 



