National Parks of Taiwan

Flowers Named after the Mountains

At 3,952 meters above sea level, Jade Mountain (Yushan) is the highest peak in Taiwan. Plant survey have begun very early on, where many scholars had published articles on alpine plants named after Yushan (It means Chinese scientific names. However, note that Yushan varies greatly in its altitudes. So vegetation named after Yushan may not necessarily be alpine plants). For example, the Yushan small leaf edelweiss (Leontopodium microphyllum Hayata), an ice age relic species unique to Taiwan, was collected from the high altitude area of Yushan and articles on it published. Others specimens such as the Morrison Rockcress (Arabis morrisonensis Hayata) and the Saint John's Wort (Hypericum nagasawai Hayata) were also collected from the high altitude area of Yushan, recorded and articles were published using their scientific names.

The current route into Yushan is usually via Tataka. In terms of accessibility, although Tataka is less than 3,000 meters above sea level and its climate is not a typical alpine environment, it has a wide ranging distribution of alpine plant ecologies. Documentations show that local peak flowering is in midsummer. However at lower altitudes, overall flowering is distributed over a longer period and almost year round, which is advantageous for beginner study of alpine plants.

The main peak of the Xue Mountain chain reaches 3,886 meters. However the stability of its geological matrix may have contributed to the lack of large pieces of rock debris in its terrain. Therefore, its krummholz region stretches almost to the peak, with very few expanses of alpine tundra landscape. Vegetation in the local krummhol z mainl y comprises the single-seed Juniper and the Yushan rhododendron. Around May, the rhododendrons are in full bloom, turning the mountain into a sea of flowers and making the Yushan rhododendrons a major annual event. A few other plants named after Xue Mountain (Xueshan) also dot the glacial cirque with colors, such as the Potentilla tugitakensis Masam. with its eye-catching feathery edged leaves and vivid yellow flowers. In addition, the pale elegant flowers recently named Gentiana itzershanensis Liu & Kuo are narrowly distributed around Xue Mountain, Dabajian Mountain and Yizhe Mountain.