The Eastern Asiatic Region (also known as Oriasiaticum, Sino-Japanese Region, East Asian Region, Temperate Eastern Region) is the richest

floristic region A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both r ...

within the

Holarctic Kingdom The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

and situated in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

. It has been recognized as a natural floristic area since 1872

August Grisebach August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botanist and phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879. Biography Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the cloister-school at Ilfe ...

's volume ''Die Vegetation der Erde'' and later delineated by such geobotanists as

Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Pri ...

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

(as Temperate Eastern region), Ronald Good (as Sino-Japanese Region) and Armen Takhtajan. The Eastern Asiatic Region is dominated by very old lineages of

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμν ...

s and woody plant families and is thought to be the cradle of the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

flora. Moreover, this floristic region wasn't significantly glaciated in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

, and many

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

genera (such as ''

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now ...

'', ancestors of which were once common throughout the Northern Hemisphere up to subpolar latitudes) found refuge here.

Endemic flora

The Eastern Asiatic Region

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

flora is characterized by:

Endemic families

*about 30 endemic

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

, including:

Ginkgoaceae The Ginkgoaceae is a family of gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era, of which the only extant representative is ''Ginkgo biloba'', which is for this reason sometimes regarded as a living fossil A living fossil is an extant tax ...

Sciadopityaceae ''Sciadopitys verticillata'', the or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus ''Sciadopitys'', a living fossil with no close relatives. The oldest fossils of ' ...

Trochodendraceae Trochodendraceae is the only family of flowering plants in the order Trochodendrales. It comprises two extant genera, each with a single species along with up to five additional extinct genera and a number of extinct species. The living speci ...

, Tetracentraceae, Cercidiphyllaceae,

Circaeasteraceae Circaeasteraceae is a family of two species of herbaceous plants native to China and the Himalayas. The family has been recognized by many taxonomists. The APG II system (2003; unchanged from the APG system of 1998), recognizes it and places it ...

Eucommiaceae ''Eucommia'' is a genus of small trees now native to China, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species, ''Eucommia ulmoides'', is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its ...

Eupteleaceae ''Euptelea'' is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the monogeneric family Eupteleaceae. The genus is found from Assam east through China to Japan, and consists of shrubs or small trees: *'' Euptelea pleiosperma'' *'' Euptelea polyandr ...

Sargentodoxaceae Lardizabalaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family has been universally recognized by taxonomists, including the APG II system (2003; unchanged from the APG system of 1998), which places it in the order Ranunculales, in the clade eudic ...

, Nandinaceae,

Pteridophyllaceae ''Pteridophyllum'' is a genus of flowering plant endemic to Japan. Its only species is ''Pteridophyllum racemosum''. The genus was formerly placed in the mono-generic family Pteridophyllaceae, which is now included within the Papaveraceae T ...

, Rhoipteleaceae, Stachyuraceae, Sladeniaceae, Dipentodontaceae,

Helwingiaceae The genus ''Helwingia'' consists of shrubs or rarely small trees native to eastern Asia, the Himalayas, and northern Indochina. It is the only genus in the family Helwingiaceae. Description The plants have alternate, evergreen or deciduous leave ...

Endemic genera

*three to six hundred endemic genera, including: ''

Cephalotaxus ''Cephalotaxus'', commonly called plum yew or cowtail pine, is a genus of conifers comprising 11 species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The genus is endemic to eastern ...

Amentotaxus ''Amentotaxus'' is a genus of conifers (catkin-yews) comprising five species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The genus is endemic to subtropical Southeast Asia, from ...

Pseudotaxus ''Pseudotaxus chienii'', the whiteberry yewThomas, P. & Yang, Y. 2013''Pseudotaxus chienii''.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. Downloaded on 04 September 2015. (), is a species of plant in the yew family, Taxaceae. It is th ...

Keteleeria ''Keteleeria'' is a genus of three species of coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae first described as a genus in 1866. The genus name ''Keteleeria'' honours J.B. Keteleer (1813–1903), a French nurseryman. The group is related to the genera ...

Pseudolarix ''Pseudolarix'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the pine family Pinaceae containing three species, the extant '' Pseudolarix amabilis'' and the extinct species '' Pseudolarix japonica'' and '' Pseudolarix wehrii''. ''Pseudolarix'' species are ...

, Cathaya,

Metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species '' Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Althou ...

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...

, Microbiota,

Akebia ''Akebia'' is a genus of five species of flowering plant, within the family Lardizabalaceae. The scientific name, ''akebia'', is a Latinization of the Japanese name for species Akebia quinata: . Species There are five species: Hybrids * ''Akeb ...

, Kingdonia, Megaleranthis, Hylomecon, Eomecon, Маcleaya,

Disanthus ''Disanthus'' is a genus containing two species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Hamamelidaceae. The Type (biology), type species, ''Disanthus cercidifolius'', was the only known species until 2017, when a second species, ''Dis ...

, Loropetalum, Corylopsis,

Fortunearia ''Fortunearia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Hamamelidaceae. It just contains one species, ''Fortunearia sinensis'' Rehder & E.H.Wilson, a shrub or tree native to southern and north-central China. Its genus na ...

Sinowilsonia ''Sinowilsonia'' is a monotypic genus of plant containing the single species ''Sinowilsonia henryi''. It is endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the proces ...

, Pteroceltis, Idesia, Bolbostemma, Schizopeppon, Clematoclethra,

Bryanthus ''Bryanthus'' is a monotypic genus of ornamental plant in the flowering plant family Ericaceae, with the sole species ''Bryanthus musciformis'', native to Japan, Kamchatka, and the Kuril Islands. The genus was created in 1769. In 2012, the new ...

, Schizocodon, Stephanandra, Rhodotypos, Kerria, Chaenomeles,

Rhaphiolepis ''Rhaphiolepis'' ( or ;The first pronunciation is that expected for Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607. However, William T. Stearn in his book ''Botanical Latin'' says "Botanical Latin ...

, Prinsepia,

Dichotomanthes ''Dichotomanthes'' is a monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In ...

, Kirengeshoma, Tanakaea, Maakia,

Phellodendron ''Phellodendron'', or cork-tree, is a genus of deciduous, dioecious trees in the family Rutaceae, native to east and northeast Asia. It has leathery, pinnate leaves and yellow, clumped flowers. The name refers to the thick and corky bark of so ...

, Poncirus,

Psilopeganum ''Psilopeganum'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Rutaceae. Characteristics It is a monotypic genus, with only a single species: ''Psilopeganum sinense'' (, not to be confused with ''Ephedra/ma huang''). Distribution It is native to ...

, Таpiscia,

Dipteronia ''Dipteronia'' is a genus with two living and one extinct species in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. The living species are native to central and southern China, The fossil species has been found in Middle Paleocene to Early Oligocene sediments ...

Fatsia ''Fatsia'' is a small genus of three species of evergreen shrubs in the family Araliaceae native to southern Japan and Taiwan. They typically have stout, sparsely branched stems bearing spirally-arranged, large leathery, palmately lobed leav ...

Tetrapanax ''Tetrapanax papyrifer'', the rice-paper plant (''通草—tong cao''), is an evergreen shrub in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Tetrapanax''. The specific epithet is frequently misspelled as "papyriferum", "papyriferus", ...

, Diplopanax, Evodiopanax,

Kalopanax ''Kalopanax septemlobus'', common names castor aralia, tree aralia, and prickly castor oil tree, is a deciduous tree in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Kalopanax''. It is native to northeastern Asia, from Sakhalin and Japa ...

, Hovenia,

Dipelta ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species ...

, Kolkwitzia, Oreocharis,

Paulownia ''Paulownia'' ( ) is a genus of seven to 17 species of hardwood tree (depending on taxonomic authority) in the family Paulowniaceae, the order Lamiales. They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivat ...

, Ombrocharis, Paralamium,

Perillula ''Perillula'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1875. It contains only one known species, ''Perillula reptans'', endemic to Japan (including the Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are ...

, Popoviocodonia,

Platycodon ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native to East Asia ( China, Korea, ...

, Hanabusaya,

Callistephus ''Callistephus'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing the single species ''Callistephus chinensis''. Its common names include China aster and annual aster.Gilman, E. F. and T. Howe''Callistephus ch ...

, Parasenecio, Symphyllocarpus,

Chionographis ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

, Metanarthecium,

Heloniopsis ''Heloniopsis'', also called swamppink, is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae, first described as a genus in 1859. It is native to east Asia (Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Sakhalin Island in Russia). ;Species * ''Heloniopsis kawanoi'' (Koidz.) Honda ...

, Tricyrtis,

Cardiocrinum ''Cardiocrinum'' is a genus of bulbous plants of the lily family first described in 1846. They are native to the Himalaya, China, the Russian Far East, and Japan. The bulbs are usually formed at the soil surface. The preferred habitat is woodlan ...

Hosta ''Hosta'' (, syn. ''Funkia'') is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the fa ...

Reineckea ''Reineckea'' is a genus of plants in the Nolinoideae. Several species names have been proposed within the genus, but only one is widely accepted: ''Reineckea carnea'', native to China and Japan.Ohwi, J. (1984). Flora of Japan (in English): 1-1 ...

Nomocharis ''Nomocharis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae. It consists of about 7 species native to montane regions of western China, Myanmar, and northern India. They are similar to ''Lilium'', with one of the more obvious differenc ...

, Milula,

Rohdea ''Rohdea'' is a genus of plants native to eastern Asia ( China, Japan, the Himalayas and Indochina). It was long thought to contain only a single species, ''R. japonica'', but recent studies have resulted in several other taxa being transferred ...

, Liriope,

Aspidistra ''Aspidistra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia, particularly China and Vietnam. They grow in shade under trees and shrubs. Their leaves arise more or le ...

, Lycoris, Sasa,

Phyllostachys ''Phyllostachys'' () is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family. Many of the species are found in central and southern China, with a few species in northern Indochina and in the Himalayas. Some of the species have become naturalized in parts ...

, Oreocalamus,

Shibataea ''Shibataea'' is a genus of Chinese bamboos in the grass family. They are unique shorter bamboos with dark green leaves. This genus is more closely related to the genus ''Phyllostachys'' than other small bamboos. Excellent as tall groundcover ...

, Phaenosperma, Chikusichloa,

Trachycarpus ''Trachycarpus'' is a genus of eleven species of palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets ...

'', and ''

Pinellia ''Pinellia'' is a genus of plants in the family Araceae native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). Its species are commonly called green dragons due to the color and shape of the inflorescence, which possesses a green, hooded spathe from which p ...

''. Approximately eight other families are shared with tropical Southeast Asia ( Nageiaceae, Rhodoleiaceae,

Daphniphyllaceae ''Daphniphyllum'' is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Daphniphyllaceae and was described as a genus in 1826. The genus includes evergreen shrubs and trees mainly native to east and southeast Asia, but also found in the Indian Subconti ...

, Pentaphyllaceae, Duabangaceae, Mastixiaceae,

Pentaphragmataceae ''Pentaphragma'' is a genus of flowering plants. ''Pentaphragma'' is the sole genus in Pentaphragmataceae, a family in the order Asterales. These species are fleshy herbs, with asymmetrical leaf blades. They are found in Southeast Asia. ''Pentaph ...

Lowiaceae ''Orchidantha'' is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG III system, it is placed in the family Lowiaceae, as the sole genus. It includes the plants in the formerly recognised genera ''Lowia'' and ''Protamomum''. ''Orchidantha'' remains a poo ...

). As has long been noted, many relict genera occurring in East Asia, such as ''

Liriodendron ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

'' and '' Hamamelis'', are shared with temperate North America, especially the

North American Atlantic Region North American Atlantic Region is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom identified by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne, spanning from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to the Great Plains and comprising a major part of the United States ...

Adjacent Regions

The Eastern Asiatic Region is bordered by the

Circumboreal Region The Circumboreal Region in phytogeography is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan. It is the largest floristic region i ...

of the Holarctic Kingdom in the north, the Irano-Turanian Region of the same kingdom in the west and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Indochinese Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and Malesian Regions of the

Paleotropical Kingdom The Paleotropical Kingdom (Paleotropis) is a floristic kingdom comprising tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), as proposed by Ronald Good and Armen Takhtajan. Part of its flora, inherited from the ancient ...

in the south. It comprises the southern part of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

, southern part of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, Japan,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, relatively humid eastern part of the mainland China from

and the seashore to Eastern Himalaya and Kali Gandaki Valley in Nepal, including Sikkim, northern Burma and northernmost Vietnam (parts of Tonkin).

Subdivisions

According to a version of Takhtajan's classification, the Eastern Asiatic Region is further subdivided into 13 provinces; however, the number and delimitation of the southern provinces is disputed and varies even across Takhtajan's work. *Manchurian Province ::two endemic genera ('' Microbiota'', ''Omphalothrix''), many endemic species (including ''Abies holophylla'', ''Picea koraiensis'', ''Ulmus macrocarpa'', ''Crataegus pinnatifida'', ''Vitis amurensis'') *Sakhalin-Hokkaido Province ::one endemic genus (''Miyakea (plant), Miyakea''), some endemic species (including ''Abies sachalinensis'', ''Fragaria yezoensis'') *Japan-Korean Province *Ryukyu ProvinceNakamura, K., et al. (2009). Geohistorical and current environmental influences on floristic differentiation in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. ''Journal of Biogeography'' 36:919–928. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02057.x *Volcanic-Bonin Province *Taiwanese Province *Northern Chinese Province *Central Chinese Province *Southeastern Chinese Province *Sikang-Yuennan Province *Northern Burmese Province *Eastern Himalayan Province *Khasi-Manipur Province

References

Cheng-yih Wu
Delineation and Unique Features of the Sino-Japanese Floristic Region
David E. Boufford and Hideaki Ohba (eds.),

'. Tokyo: University of Tokyo, 1998. {{floristic regions Floristic regions Natural history of Asia