Rich Repository of Plants |
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| Oita Prefecture is blessed with a warm climate
and has much rainfall. The shoreline is made up of a shallow beach
and a tidal flat along the Suo Channel, as well as the ria coastline
of Bungo Channel where the bluff drops sharply into the sea. The tectonic
line lies diagonally under the ground and it divides the mountain
soil into new and old volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks from ancient
times. Mt. Nakadake in Oita Prefecture is the highest mountain (1,791m)
in Kyushu. The natural weather cycle has created the plains, shores
along the rivers, and dunes sharpening the mountains and carving the
valleys after many years. It has also formed the moors where plants
grow on. Japanese pampas grass (mis-canthus), reed (phragmites), moliniopsis(pampas
grass) and spiraea have grown in clumps in the prairies and rocky
climbs. From the lowlands to the mountainous districts, the natural
woods of chinquapin, evergreen oaks, firs, Japanese hemlock, and beech
trees grow thick. Among the wild plants in Oita, a total of 2,830
species grow in the wild; 330 kinds of ferns and 2,500 kinds of seed
plants. The most widely distributed item is made up of 40% Shino-Japanese
elements such as Japanese pampas grass and reynoutria (smartweed)
which grows widely in the East Asian continent and 35% of the kind
of plants native to Japan, such as gentian and cirsium. Other plants
in the northern cold district such as moliniopsis (pampas grass) and
quercus, and warm-climate plants such as crinum and ficus, have 5%
distribution respectively. Including the foreign dandelion and goldenrod
grown in towns and in the suburbs, all these constitute the various
kinds of plants in Oita. |
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Plants which are Especially Suited to Oita's NaturalEnvironment
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| Some particular species of tilia and calanthe
have grown only in Oita and have never been seen in any other places
in the world. Wild azaleas at the top of the volcanoes and hosta on
the rocks at the top of Mt. Sobo grow in colonies and they are especially
suited to the mountains of Kyushu. A rare kind of alectorurus and
kirengeshoma elements are found in the mountains in Kyushu, Shikoku
and Kishu. The northern cold district plants like menyanthes and lobelia
moved south 20,000 years ago, in the ice age, and they propagated
in the damp ground of the volcanic highlands. When south-west Japan
bordered on the continent, some species of iris and lilium moved and
settled in the dry area of the highlands. On the other hand, the warm
temperature plants, which grow in the tropical and sub-tropical areas,
settled in the islands and cape of the Bungo Channel as these places
have a warm and mild climate, influenced by the warm Kuroshio Current.
These plants have been growing in the rich natural environment here
since time immemorial. |
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Praying for the Eternal Abun-dance of Natural Assets |
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| As there is little flat land in Oita, the lives
and production activities of the people have extended from the beaches
and riverside to the inland areas. They made towns and cities and
cleared forest land for paddy fields and farms. Through maintaining
the semi-natural plains made by burning grass off the fields, the
highlands have been made into artificial pastures and afforested areas,
and a large number of natural trees were cut down to make cedar woods.
The number of rare plant species has been increasing, and these are
facing the danger of extinction due to loss of land. The situation
was outlined in the "Red Data Book Oita" published by Oita
Prefecture in 2001. The book states that 102 ferns and 606 seed plants
are in danger, including those already extinct and missing species,
and outlines the degree of danger and reasons of extinction for each
species. For the plants who chose Oita, we pray for their eternal
propagation and for the preservation of their land as the natural
assets of "Toyo-no Kuni" (Oita's old of Natural Assets name
meaning "Land of Prosperity"). |
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The tideland of Suo Channel (Matama Town)
Bungo Channel The Coast of Yonozu Village
Mt. Nokogiri (Yamaga Town)
 Sobo Mountains
Nikka elements
The plants are distributed from Japan to the East Himalayan area over the
central part of China.
Sohayaki elements
The plants are intensively distributed in the mountain areas of Kyushu,
Shikoku and Kii Peninsula in Honshu.
Tilia
Hosta
Lobelia
Lilium |
