If we knew how precious the origins of Taiwan hinoki cypress are, could we put down the chainsaw? "Plants Connected to the World" Decodes Alpine Plants

The giant Taiwan red cypress in Alishan, a 2,700-year-old tree, stands like a silent giant overlooking the land. Only 6 species of the genus Chamaecyparis are known worldwide, distributed only along the coasts and high mountains on both sides of the North Pacific, and they are all closely related to one another. Their distribution is scattered like pearls, seemingly dispersed yet faintly holding clues. And far away, thousands of miles across the sea in Taiwan, there are not only two species of Chamaecyparis - Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis) and Taiwan hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana) - but also the world's finest habitat for Chamaecyparis.

Although the vast Pacific Ocean separates the North American continent from Taiwan, North American plants had already begun a wondrous journey to the island of Taiwan tens of thousands of years ago. Why did this happen? How did they arrive here and take root? This puzzle is precisely the answer that "Plants Connected to the World: A Spatiotemporal Journey of Taiwan's Alpine Plants" is dedicated to unveiling!

Seemingly an obscure field, biogeography is actually a love letter to Taiwan's high mountains

The recently published "Plants Connected to the World" is the first book in Taiwan to trace the origins of alpine plants from a biogeographical perspective. It not only unravels the magnificent origins of the genus Chamaecyparis, but also, through eight themes - including the genus Oreomyrrhis (mountain fragrance), the genus Berberis (barberry), the Taiwan-endemic genus Sinopanax, and three types of Taiwan alpine vegetation communities: montane temperate, limestone plants, and alpine plants - reveals one by one the connections between Taiwan's alpine plants and the world.

As author Yu Chih-chia puts it, biogeography is a discipline that studies the distribution patterns of organisms on the Earth's surface, exploring the relationship between environmental change and biological distribution. From this perspective, Taiwan's alpine plants - from the giant trees of the genus Chamaecyparis down to the obscure herbaceous plant Oreomyrrhis - all contain codes of connection to the world. From their origins, one can feel plants' endurance across time and space, and life is thus passed on.

What force sustained author Yu Chih-chia - who had just obtained a PhD from National Taiwan University's Department of Forestry and was still a novice in writing - to produce such a moving story of alpine plants, like a love letter to Taiwan? Yu Chih-chia states in the book: "Taiwan's high mountains not only nurtured my romanticism, but also enlightened my intellectual journey on the path of scientific research. It is the finest classroom of biogeography in my heart."

From mountaineering to entering the academic hall of plant research, the high mountains are both like Taiwan and unlike Taiwan

Because of his love for mountains, Yu Chih-chia joined the mountaineering club after entering university. He had thought mountaineering meant climbing high mountains, but unexpectedly, the NTU Mountaineering Club specialized in intermediate mountains at elevations of 1,500-2,500 m. Yu Chih-chia says that intermediate mountains are mostly muddy trails, leeches, yellow rattan, and do not boast beautiful scenery. These experiences left him somewhat disappointed, but after 6 painful trips, he gradually came to appreciate the beauty of intermediate mountains.

"The beauty of intermediate mountains cannot be conveyed visually. The more organisms you know, the more you like intermediate mountains," says Yu Chih-chia. After overcoming physical challenges, he gradually felt the beauty of intermediate mountains. In the clouds and mist that gradually shroud the area in the afternoon, abundant epiphytes thrive - whether lichens on the ground, thick moss on trees, or insects and birds are all plentiful, and one can even encounter wild Taiwan red cypress unexpectedly. Especially in some forests preserved from cultivation, one can appreciate the ever-changing natural scenery everywhere.

Taiwan's high mountains offer a completely different perspective. "If intermediate mountains are about experiencing the abundance of the cloud belt, high mountains are about the alpine cold experience brought by snow - an experience unimaginable in a subtropical country." Because of the mountaineering club's winter snow training, he encountered snow for the first time at Xueshan (Snow Mountain) and was deeply amazed. Unlike the road development at Hehuanshan, which brings large numbers of tourists, the snow-locked and isolated Xueshan appears utterly wild. "This really doesn't look like Taiwan, yet it is Taiwan!"

"Why are plants there?" Opens a dialogue between people and plants

He truly fell in love with "mountains," and because of mountains, he encountered plants. Yu Chih-chia admits that he did not particularly favor plants from the start. Although he liked all kinds of organisms, during nearly ten years of mountaineering, exploring alpine biodiversity, and deciding on his academic direction, his advisor Chung Kuo-fang led him to approach this issue through plants, and so "plants found him."

Regarding plants, some people care about their appearance and beautiful legends, some only want to know if they are edible, what benefits eating them brings, and how to eat them. But he cares about where they came from, how they completed their great journeys to Taiwan, and their distribution around the world. "Biogeography begins by unfolding a map and asking: what organisms are on the map? Where are they? Why are they there? This opens a dialogue," says Yu Chih-chia.

The first chapter completed for this book was the mystery of the origins of the genus Berberis. Plant research usually takes a single taxonomic group as its theme. He chose the genus Berberis as his research calling. Although it is not the plant he is most fascinated by, it is the group he has devoted the most effort to and studied most deeply. While some envy the astonishment of species discoveries everywhere on the island of Taiwan a century ago, he has come to realize through pursuing the genus Berberis that "the only thing we may have lost compared to the ancients is that determination and drive to walk into the mountains."

Slash writing was not the original intention; popular science writing fulfills knowledge dissemination

After obtaining his PhD, Yu Chih-chia originally wanted to find a job and achieve financial independence sooner. Writing a book was unexpected.

When Spring Hill Publishing invited him to write a book, he proposed an outline and submitted a trial chapter on the genus Berberis, which he knew best. However, even for species he understood well, he found it difficult to write and was unsatisfied. Before the editor responded, he did not believe he could write a book. But the publisher saw a sense of events and storytelling in his writing and pointed this out, guiding Yu Chih-chia to find his writing direction, igniting his passion, and completing this story of Taiwan's alpine plants that combines knowledge and humanities.

"As a scientist, if you do not promote the dissemination of knowledge, it is no surprise that the general public does not understand." Being able to communicate what he has learned to the public is also Yu Chih-chia's original intention in writing this book. Although reading this book is somewhat challenging, it is a threshold that Yu Chih-chia "cannot (does not want to) remove."

"Popular science articles sometimes, in the process of translating academic language into plain terms, inadvertently use imprecise metaphors, or sensational or exaggerated sentences for effect, raising concerns of 'over-interpretation.'" Yu Chih-chia takes "Taiwan endemic species" as an example. Although a higher proportion of endemic species means a country has a more important ecological status and richer biodiversity, the importance of Taiwan's endemic species is not determined by numbers or proportions.

Yu Chih-chia explains that the occurrence of endemic species in each region has its own unique factors, accumulated from many physical, chemical,