Nature Sites / Okinoshima Town
At an elevation of about 240 m, the Shirashima Lookout is a warm temperate vegetation area. However, also growing here are the cold temperate mizunara oak (Quercus crispula), the subalpine fringed galax (Schizocodon soldanelloides var. soldanelloides), the continental seashore spatulate aster (Aster spathulifolius) and mitsuba-iwagasa meadowsweet (Spiraea blumei var. obtusa), and others. The reason for this distribution of plants is not yet known, but one factor is thought to be the year-round humidity caused by the combination of the Tsushima warm current and the cold wind from the nearby continent.
