Abstract
DR. HAYATA has devoted twenty years to the study of the vegetation of the island of Formosa, which, lying directly under the tropic of Cancer, and possessing mountain ranges rising more than 10,000 ft. above sea-level, presents almost every kind of climatal and topographical feature, with an extraordinarily rich flora embracing tropical, temperate, and even alpine elements. Climatic conditions and the activity of the head-hunters of the interior had restricted exploration to the coastal regions before the acquisition of the island by Japan. Dr. A. Henry's “List of Plants from Formosa” (1896), the first attempt to outline the flora, included 1428 species. This number has been nearly trebled by Dr. Hayata's efforts since his first visit to he island in 1900, and by later visits, as well as by his elaboration of collections made by other botanists. The present volume, the last of the series, includes an index to the ten volumes, comprising 3658 species of flowering plants and ferns, representing 1197 genera and 170 families. More than 1200 species are new, and among the new genera is the remarkable conifer, Taiwania. The volumes are profusely illustrated and form a very valuable contribution to the taxonomic study of an area of special interest.
Icones Plantarum Formosanarum necnon et Contributiones ad Floram Formosanam.
By BunzÅ Hayata Rigakuhakushi. Vol. 10. Pp. iv+335. (Taihoku: Bureau of Productive Industries, Government of Formosa, 1921.)
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Icones Plantarum Formosanarum necnon et Contributiones ad Floram Formosanam . Nature 108, 237 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/108237b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/108237b0