On the Alpine Vegetation of Formosa and its Origin

Abstract

In Formosa there are many high mountains reaching heights of mofe than 3500m above the sea level, some of which stand above the timber line. At these heights we meet with vegetation that strongly resembles the alpine, but from the view point of the present climatic character of these regions alone, it seems that it is not true alpine, although a number of seemingly alpine plants are found, which, however, after careful investigation have turned to be rather few in number.
From the foregoing and other considerations, my conclusion is that, in recent geological times, the climate of Formosa either must have been cold enough to allow the alpine plants to thrive at such heights or the monuntain ranges in Formosa were so high that they could maintain a true alpine vegetation, but a change in climate, probably caused by the submergence of the island, forced the alpine plants to disappear, or almost disappear, leaving only such alpine plants as possessed the tendency to grow in the open and invade the lower tree-less subalpine regions, and continue to thrive there. I think this is the present state of alpine vegetation in Formosa.