Abstract
The seed morphology and seed drifting of Vernicia fordii （Hemsl） Airy Shaw were investigated. The size of seed， number of seeds per fruit, proportion of three morphological types of seeds, seed buoyancy in water were surveyed about the seeds collected from two cites of V. fordii community in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
The survey about drift seeds of V. fordii was also done on the coasts in Nagasaki Prefecture. It was found that there was a relation between three morphological type of seeds and number of seeds per fruit. The three types of seed are the Shina type which is obovate with transversely rhombic in cross section, the Kanton type which is very broadly obovate with transversely narrowly elliptic in cross section and the Middle type which are middle shape between the Shina and Kanton types. Seeds of Shina type are found in the fruits which have chiefly five seeds per fruit. Seeds of Kanton type are found in the fruits which have chiefly two or three seeds per fruit. Seeds of the Middle type are found in the fruits which have chiefly four seeds per fruit. The drift seeds collected were also divided into such three
types of seed. From the observation results and the distribution of V. fordii and V. montana Lour. in Japan, the drift seeds have been identified with V. montana must be seeds of the Kanton type of V. fordii. Any seeds floated in water have no embryo so that the drift seeds of V. fordii could not germinate.
