On the plant remains from Amino, Prov. Tango (Kyoto Prefecture), Japan

Abstract

In this paper plant remains from two beds at Kobama in Amino, Kyoto Prefecture, namely those from the peat layer on the coast of Nippon-Sea (A) and from drainage channels of rice fields near Lake Hanareko (B), are enumerated.
Twenty-seven species belonging to 19 families were found in the bed A, and 13 species belonging to 8 families in the bed B. Among those from A, Fagus Hayatae Palib, is not found in wild state to-day in Japan, while the 3 species, Rosa akashiensis Miki, Nuphar akashiensis Miki and Fothergilla Matsumotoi Miki n. sp., are extinct. The last mentioned species, only two leaves of which have been found, has characteristic similar to Fothergilla alnifolia which grows on the east coast of North America, but differs from this in shape (Fig. 3C, Fig. 4E).
The age of the bed A is determined to be the lower Pleistocene, because it is situated unconfermable to the tuff bed of the Miocene, and the floral composition has intimate relation to the Paliurus bed which belongs to the lower Pleistocene. The bed B, on the other hand, is considered as the recent, because its floral composition is the same as at present, and tissue structures of the remains are not yet modified much.
The floral structure of the bed A has more or less xerophytic characters, namely abundance of Pinus Thunbergii and Buxus japonica, and presence of thorned plants as Gleditschia and Rosa, accompanied by some leaves of Torreya nucifera, The xerophytic nature of the bed may be attributed to its situation near the sea coast and on. extension of granite.