The Vegetation of Japan. 
5* 
Practically the whole area of the summit is occupied by a 
large crater not far short of 2,000 feet in diameter, which is sur¬ 
rounded by a series of small rugged peaks. Two springs of very 
pure cold water supply the demands of crowds of mountaineers. 
The Alpine zone of Mount Fuji does not contain many 
plants, though there are a few things only known from this moun¬ 
tain. On the other mountains of Central Japan, which form the 
back-bone of the main island, and are often called the Japanese 
Alps, the Alpine vegetation is very well developed. On these 
mountains a creeping pine, Firms pumila which also occurs in 
Siberia, appears in the shrub zone, and extends to the Alpine 
zone. The thickets of this pine are very troublesome to cross, 
but under their shade various interesting plants are found, e.g., 
Coptis trifolia, Fritillaria camtschatcensis, Linncea borealis, Lyco¬ 
podium alpinum, L. Selago var. appressum, Listera cordata and 
other orchids, Rabus pedatus, Viola biflora, V. crassa, and so forth. 
Many arctic plants which occur on the rocky cliffs of the Kuriles 
can also be found in the Alpine zone of these mountains. One of 
the most attractive things is Dicentra pusilla. This plant is about 
a span high, with much dissected, intensely glaucous leaves, and a 
terminal raceme bearing some half-a-dozen large pink flowers. A 
beautiful sight is a carpet made up of the crimson flowers of 
Primula cuneifolia with white patches of Anemone narcissi flora. 
Mosaics of the crimson Geranium yezoense var. nipponicum, the 
golden-yellow Ranunculus acris var. Steveni and Trollius patulus, 
and the blue Aquilegia siberica var. flabellata are another sight of 
the Alpine zone. On the rocks we occasionally find Campanula 
lasiocarpa, C. pilosa var. dasyantha, Diapensia lapponica var. obovata, 
Empetrum nigrum, Eritrichium nipponicum, Geum calthaefolium var. 
dilatatum, Hypericum camtschaticum, Lloydia alpina, Saxifrag a 
bronchialis var. cherlerioides, Sedum Rliodiola var. Tachircei, and so 
on. In the crevices of the rocks the very peculiar looking Cassiope 
lycopodioides grows, while its congener C. Stellariana prefers a 
moist place. Dryas is very rare, and is known only from four or 
five localities, but it is replaced by a member of the same family, 
namely Geum dryadoides which has white flowers and bearded 
achenes. The species of Ranunculus with white flowers are totally 
unknown from the Japanese Alps, while Soldanella is replaced by a 
member of the Diapensiaceae called Shortia soldanelloides. Neither 
Cyclamen nor Sempervivum grow in any part of Japan. One of 
the rare and interesting plants is Anemone Taraoi,' with a pale 
1 For a description, see Journ. Bot., 1910, p. 266. 
