Changes in Vegetation Patterns
The vegetation of Mt. Daisen changes dramatically as one climbs toward the summit. At around 1200 m, the influence of snowstorms becomes more pronounced, and the beech forests give way to shrub vegetation. Above 1300 m, trees such as redvein maples, rowan (Sorbus commixta), and symplocus (Symplocus sawafutagi) grow only one or two meters high. From the area of 1600 m the vegetation changes again, to low-growing shrubs like privet (Ligustrum tschonoskii), willow (Salix sieboldiana Blume) and honeysuckle (Lonicers strophiophora var. glabra). The vegetation of Mt. Daisen is a unique mixture of elements from both northern and southern Japan.