Western Yunnan Province Research Articles

The Spatial Symmetry Axis of Earthquake Hazard in China

Natural disaster risk assessment is one of the hot fields of the study of natural disaster. It is of theoretical and practical significance to accurately identify the trend of natural disasters. Not all the natural disaster has the quality of spatial symmetry, only some disasters during some certain periods (active period) and some certain regions share this quality, which requires substantial research work to distinguish. This paper takes the spatial symmetry axis of earthquake hazard in china as the key of assessing natural disaster risk to emphatically analyze the rationality of the existence of the spatial symmetry axis of the regions of western china, Yunnan province and Taiwan and find out the dynamics basis of spatial symmetry axis combing with those presentational features, so as to provide some theoretical thinking and methods for reference to identify the time, spatial trends of the earthquake disaster occurrence. The results show that the earthquakes have the quality of spatial symmetry in certain regions and the symmetry has the basis of dynamics, which can work as the basis of the regional earthquake trend. And further improvements are needed to judge the earthquake trend to combine the spatial imagery, dynamics basis and physical mechanism..

S and Pb Isotopic Constraints on the Relationship between the Linong Granodiorite and the Yangla Copper Deposit, Yunnan, China

Abstract:The Yangla copper deposit, located in western Yunnan Province, China, is a typical giant, newly started mining copper deposit with an estimated Cu reserves of about 1,200,000 tons. The deposit is spatially and temporally associated with the Linong granodiorite, which is rich in SiO2 (SiO2=58.25 wt%–69.84 wt%) and alkalis (Na2O+K2O=5.98 wt%–8.34 wt%), indicating an association with shoshonitic series to high‐K calc‐alkaline series granites, and shows low contents of TiO2 (0.35 wt%–0.48 wt%), MgO (1.51 wt%–1.72 wt%), and Al2O3 (13.38 wt%–19.75 wt%). The δ34S values of sulfides of the main ore stage from copper ores vary range from −4.2‰ to −0.9‰, indicating a much greater contribution from the mantle to the ore‐forming fluids. The δ34S values of the late ore stage is −9.8‰, indicating enrichment of biogenic sulfur which may derive from the crustal hydrothermal fluid. The 208pb/204pbj 207pb/204pb and 206pb/204pb of sulfides of the main ore stage from copper ores range within 38.66–38.73, 15.71–15.74 and 18.35–19.04, respectively, implying that the Pb was derived from the mantle, with the crustal component, probably representing mixtures of mantle lead and crustal lead. Sulfide of the late ore stage in their Pb isotopic composition, 208Pb/204Pb= 38.69, 207Pb/204Pb=15.70, 206Pb/204Pb=18.35, implying that the Pb was derived from the crust. The Linong granodiorite is syncollisional, produced by partial melting of thickened lower crust, which was triggered by the westward subduction of the Jinshajiang Oceanic plate. During a transition in geodynamic setting from collision‐related compression to extension, gently dipping ductile shear zones (related to subduction) were transformed to brittle shear zones, consisting of a series of thrust faults in the Jinshajiang tectonic belt. The tensional thrust faults would have been a favorable environment for ore‐forming fluids. The ascending magma provided a channel for the ore‐forming fluid from the mantle wedge. After the magma arrived at the base of the early‐stage Linong granodiorite, the platy granodiorite at the base of the body would have shielded the late‐stage magma from the fluid. The magma would have cooled slowly, and some of the ore‐forming fluid in the magma would have entered the gently dipping thrust faults near the Linong granodiorite, resulting in mineralization.

Zoning of mineralization in hypogene porphyry copper deposits: Insight from comb microfractures within quartz–chalcopyrite veins in the Hongshan porphyry Cu deposit, western Yunnan, SW China

The origin of zonal mineralization in porphyry copper deposit is important for understanding the mineralization processes. We propose a new, modified “orthomagmatic” genetic model for mineralization zoning in hypogene porphyry copper deposits. This new model is based on the features and formation mechanism of comb microfractures in quartz–chalcopyrite veins within pyrite vein from the Hongshan porphyry copper deposit in Zhongdian County, western Yunnan Province, SW-China. The main evidence for this model is volume expansion related to crystallization of chalcopyrite, magnetite and K-metasomatism in the deposit.Comb microfractures are well developed in quartz–chalcopyrite veins and are present as comb-quartz veinlets consisting of a zone of central longitudinal quartz overprinted by laterally grown quartz combs. Chalcopyrite fragments lie perpendicular to the central quartz veinlet and were dismembered by the quartz combs. The combed microfractures are typical tensional hydrofractures. The formation of the comb microfractures is related to volume expansion that was induced by crystallization of chalcopyrite from a chalcopyrite melt that resulted in the subsequent increase of volumetric pressure in the confined residual silica melt. The formation mechanism of the comb microfractures, including volume expansion induced by crystallization, increases volumetric pressure, hydrofracturing and fluid expulsion, and was the most likely process for zoning of minerals in hypogene porphyry copper deposits.Fabrics in the veins and veinlets are consistent with overpressuring and injection and are common structures that are directly related to volumetric pressure and crystallization of chalcopyrite and magnetite and K-metasomatism in hypogene porphyry copper deposits. The volume expansion ratio of chalcopyrite mineral to melt and that of magnetite mineral to melt are approximately 19vol.% and 20vol.%, respectively. The volume expansion rate of a monomolecular lattice is ⩾8vol.% for orthoclase replacing plagioclase.We suggest that zoning of mineralization in hypogene porphyry copper deposits is mainly related to hydrofracturing, migration and distribution of ore-forming fluids, including (1) the enclosure and formation of a mush core, (2) concentration of ore-forming fluids in the orthoclase shell, (3) K-metasomatism and pressure building, (4) hydrofracturing and migration of ore-forming fluids, and (5) prior crystallization of magnetite and chalcopyrite that will expel residual fluids upwards and outwards due to the change in volumetric pressure.

Heterophleps inusitata, an extremely rare new moth species from western Yunnan, China (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae)

Heinitang is a small Lisu Nationality village located in western Yunnan Province, China, near the frontier of Myanmar. It is surrounded by low mountains covered with evergreen forests and shrubs (Fig. 1). As a tradition, the natives often cut and burn the forests for agriculture, resulting in increasing loss of forest habitat (Fig. 2). The moth fauna of this place is quite diverse, but as in other areas of the world, the biodiversity is decreasing due to more frequent human activities.

Micromammals from an early Holocene archaeological site in southwest China: Paleoenvironmental and taphonomic perspectives

Investigations of the well-known paleontological and archaeological site of Tangzigou in western Yunnan Province in 2003 and 2006 yielded plentiful mammalian remains and a large number of stone and bone artifacts. Among the mammalian remains were those of many micromammals representing modern taxa of Scandentia, Insectivora, and Rodentia. The micromammal assemblage is dominated by rodents, which constitute 92% of the total number of identifiable elements. Murids are the most common elements, followed by rhizomyids, sciurids, and hystricids. The Tangzigou deposits appear to have been created over a period of 200–300 years in the early to middle Holocene , judging from the tight cluster of AMS radiocarbon dates between 9000 and 8745 BP. Based on the known habitat preferences of the living species, most of the Tangzigou micromammals were arboreal or dwellers of the forest floor. The micromammal assemblage thus indicates that subtropical forest including bamboo dominated the environment around Tangzigou. The assemblage is remarkable for the near absence of very small micromammal species such as small mice. This bias appears to have been introduced by humans who collected the larger-bodied species of micromammals for food. This interpretation is supported by the presence of a large number of burned elements, especially dentaries. The analysis of the larger mammals also showed that Tangzigou was a place where prehistoric people gathered to butcher the hunted/scavenged animals.

Isolation and Characterization of 21 Microsatellite Loci in Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense (Liliaceae), an Important Economic Plant in China

Twenty-one microsatellite markers from the genome of Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense, an important economic plant in China, were developed with a fast isolation protocol by amplified fragment length polymorphism of sequences containing repeats (FIASCO). Polymorphism within each locus was assessed in 24 wild individuals from Gaoligong Mountains in western Yunnan Province, China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 4 with a mean of 2.9. The expected and observed levels of heterozygosity ranged from 0.042 to 0.726 and from 0.000 to 1.000, with averages of 0.44 and 0.31, respectively. These polymorphic microsatellite markers should prove useful in population genetics studies and assessments of genetic variation to develop conservation and management strategies for this species.

Structural sequence and geochronology of the Qomo Ri accretionary complex, Central Qiangtang, Tibet: Implications for the Late Triassic subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean

The Late Paleozoic Qomo Ri Accretionary Complex (QRAC) in the Central Qiangtang region of Tibet lies at the southern margin of the Longmu Co–Shuanghu suture. QRAC is tectonically linked with the Nierong and Jitang metamorphic complexes in eastern Tibet and the Yunling and Lancang complexes in western Yunnan province, SW China. This metamorphic complex is mainly composed of Late Paleozoic passive continental marginal strata of the South Qiangtang basin, which was underthrust beneath North Qiangtang in the Late Triassic. At least three stages of deformation, D1, D2 and D3, with two corresponding metamorphic events, M1 and M2, were identified within the QRAC. D1 is characterized by a penetrative foliation, S1, bearing a dextral shear and a corresponding M1 mineral assemblage of phengite, garnet and quartz. This deformation was interpreted to be the result of the northwestward oblique subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and dated at 211–219Ma by phengite 40Ar/39Ar ages. D2, a subsequent compression deformation, followed D1 immediately and exhibits flexural folds and pervasive axial crenulation in foliation S2. Deformations from D1 to D2 indicate that an oblique oceanic subduction was immediately followed by a collision between the North and South Qiangtang blocks along the Longmu Co–Shuanghu suture. The D3, recorded by minor folds and divisional axial cleavage (S3), is related to a giant arc structure with an extension of ~50km.

THE APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY TO THE STUDY AND FORECAST OF TERRESTRIAL HEAT RESOURCES IN SOUTHWESTERN TENGCHONG AREA, YUNNAN PROVINCE

Based on an analysis of the relevant TM pseudo-color synthetic remote sensing images, the authors interpreted the tectonic phenomena in western Yunnan Province, especially in Tengchong area. Through extracting the information concealed in the TM6 Far Infrared band and then by using the overlapping analysis of the tectonic interpretation and the terrestrial heat anomaly distribution images, the authors found out the regularity governing the distribution of the terrestrial heat spots and put forward the RS tectonic image model. On such a basin, an Order-I anomalous area which consist of 62 water-heat anomalous spots has been delineated.

Yunnanobryon, a new rheophytic moss genus from southwest China

A new rheophytic moss genus and species Yunnanobryon rhyacophilum occurring in fast-flowing rivers of western Yunnan and southern Guizhou Province is described and illustrated. It is a slender moss with stoloniform primary stems and intricately much branched secondary stems, flagellate-attenuate at the tips; small, ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with almost uniform areolation throughout the lamina of small, rounded, hexagonal to quadrate-hexagonal cells; coarsely serrate leaf margins in the distal portion; subpercurrent single costae; and very short, bicellular axillary hairs consisting of a large globular apical cell and a short, quadrate and brownish-tinged basal cell. The peculiar shape of the axillary hairs suggests a close alliance of this new genus with the Regmatodontaceae.

A new Drynaria (Polypodiaceae) from the Upper Pliocene of Southwest China

A polypodiaceous fern, Drynaria callispora sp. nov., is described from the upper Pliocene Sanying Formation in western Yunnan Province, southwestern China. This species with well-preserved pinnae and in situ spores is the first convincing Drynaria fossil record. Detailed morphological investigation reveals that D. callispora is characterized by 1) pinnatifid fronds with entire-margined pinnae having straight or zigzag secondary veins; 2) finer venation showing void quadrangular areoles, but occasionally with one unbranched veinlet; 3) one row of circular sori on each side of the strong primary vein; and 4) in situ spores with verrucate exospores elliptical in polar view and bean-shaped in equatorial view. A morphological comparison shows that D. callispora is significantly different from all the fossil species previously identified as drynarioids. A phylogenetic analysis of D. callispora supports that the fossil is closely related to D. sinica Diels and D. mollis Bedd., two extant species distributing in the Himalayas. The discovery of the new fern indicates that the genus Drynaria became diversified in its modern distribution region no later than the late Pliocene and had retained a similar ecology to that of many modern drynarioid ferns ever since.

LA‐ICP‐MS Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology and Petrology of the Muchang Alkali Granite, Zhenkang County, Western Yunnan Province, China

Abstract:The Muchang composite intrusion is located about 14 km southeast of the Fengwei town and south of the Baoshan‐Zhenkang block. The rift‐related intrusion consists of the early‐stage riebeckite nordmarkite in the east and west sides and the discontinuous marginal zone, the late‐stage main body of dominant riebeckite granite, and minor aegirine granite. Studies on petrological geochemistry and LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U‐Pb dating of the late‐stage riebeckite granite, origin and evolution of the Muchang alkali granite and the relationship between the granite and the associated skarn‐type Luziyuan Pb‐Zn deposit are discussed in this paper. The results show that the Muchang alkali granites belong to A‐type granites, which are characterized by enrichment in Al2O3, SiO2, total alkali and Fe, depletion in MgO and CaO contents with high FeOT/MgO ratios. The REE concentrations are relatively high, exhibiting highly fractionated LREE patterns with significantly Eu negative anomaly. The Muchang granites are obviously enriched in lithophile elements (e.g., Rb, K, U and Th) and high field strength elements (e.g., Zr, Hf, Nb, Y and Ga) with high 10000×Ga/Al ratios and depleted in Sr, Ba, Ti, Cr and Ni, which are similar to those of the A‐type granites and quite different from those of S‐type and I‐type granites. The LA‐ICP‐MS zircon dating results of the Muchang granite gave a weighted mean age of 266.2±5.4 Ma (2σ), suggesting that they were formed in the stage of extension at the end of post‐collision at Middle Permian and the consumption of Paleo‐Tethys ocean took place before 266 Ma. It is suggested that the unexposed intermediate‐acid intrusive rocks in the Luziyuan ore district, which is the “sister” rocks material of the Muchang granites and related closely to Luziyuan Pb‐Zn mineralization, were the product of Middle Permian.

Numerical taxonomy of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) from the Mangbang Formation of West Yunnan, China

Specimens of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) were collected from the upper Pliocene of western Yunnan Province, which is a new geographical and age range record of engelhardioid winged fruits in China. A numerical taxonomic investigation based on 14 morphological characters of fossil and extant specimens of engelhardioid winged fruits in China was conducted using multivariate methods. Phenetic clustering shows that there are four morphotypical groups which we assign to four species. Two groups are assigned to the previously described fossil species, Palaeocarya guangxiensis Li Hao-Min et Chen Yun-Fa, 2003 and Palaeocarya koreanica (Oishi) Manchester, 1987. Two new species are recognized, Palaeocarya yunnanensis and Palaeocarya longialata. These Neogene Engelhardieae fruits provide fossil data for understanding the origin and evolution of the Engelhardia species that now inhabit South China.

Asymmetric hybridization in Rhododendron agastum: a hybrid taxon comprising mainly F1s in Yunnan, China.

Rhododendron (Ericaceae) is a large woody genus in which hybridization is thought to play an important role in evolution and speciation, particularly in the Sino-Himalaya region where many interfertile species often occur sympatrically. Rhododendron agastum, a putative hybrid species, occurs in China, western Yunnan Province, in mixed populations with R. irroratum and R. delavayi. Material of these taxa from two sites 400 km apart (ZhuJianYuan, ZJY and HuaDianBa, HDB) was examined using cpDNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci, to test the possibility that R. agastum was in fact a hybrid between two of the other species. Chloroplast trnL-F and trnS-trnG sequences together distinguished R. irroratum, R. delavayi and some material of R. decorum, which is also considered a putative parent of R. agastum. All 14 R. agastum plants from the HDB site had the delavayi cpDNA haplotype, whereas at the ZJY site 17 R. agastum plants had this haplotype and four had the R. irroratum haplotype. R. irroratum and R. delavayi are distinguished by five unequivocal point mutations in their ITS sequences; every R. agastum accession had an additive pattern (double peaks) at each of these sites. Data from AFLP loci were acquired for between ten and 21 plants of each taxon from each site, and were analysed using a Bayesian approach implemented by the program NewHybrids. The program confirmed the identity of all accessions of R. delavayi, and all R. irroratum except one, which was probably a backcross. All R. agastum from HDB and 19 of 21 from ZJY were classified as F1 hybrids; the other two could not be assigned a class. Rhododendron agastum represents populations of hybrids between R. irroratum and R. delavayi, which comprise mostly or only F1s, at the two sites examined. The sites differ in that at HDB there was no detected variation in cpDNA type or hybrid class, whereas at ZJY there was variation in both.

Religion as a means of cultural reproduction: popular rituals in a Yunnan Chinese village in northern Thailand

This article discusses how popular rituals are used to achieve cultural reproduction in Banmai, a Yunnan Chinese village in northern Thailand where I conducted empirical fieldwork between 2002 and 2007. Most Banmai villagers were local militias originally associated with the Chinese Nationalist Party in western Yunnan Province. They went into exile on the Burmese side of the Golden Triangle in or shortly after 1949 when the People's Liberation Army swept through this region, and they ultimately settled in northern Thailand's hill regions in early 1960s. As the self-proclaimed preservers of authentic Chinese culture, Banmai villagers vigorously instituted many traditional practices, following the imagined Confucian orthodoxy, to build a reified community that represents an idealized Chinese spiritual world. Through their participation in popular rituals, we see clearly how villagers have been able to attain the cultural unification that has played a crucial role in meeting their spiritual needs at various levels: the individual, the family, the kin group, and the community.

U–Pb zircon, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic constraints on the age and origin of Early Palaeozoic I-type granite from the Tengchong–Baoshan Block, Western Yunnan Province, SW China

Herein we present new U–Pb zircon ages, whole-rock geochemical data and Nd–Sr–Hf isotopic data for an Early Palaeozoic monzogranite batholith from the Tengchong–Baoshan Block, Western Yunnan Province, China. Mineralogical and geochemical features suggest that this granitoid is a high-K, calc-alkaline, I-type granite. SHRIMP and laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of zircon yields ages of between 499 ± 5 Ma and 502 ± 5 Ma, for three samples from the batholith. The monzogranite is characterised by high initial 87Sr/ 86Sr (0.7132–0.7144), negative ε Nd( t) (−9.7 to −9.40) and ε Hf( t) (−10 to −13.1), and is interpreted to derive from remelting of pre-existing Palaeoproterozoic, high-K, metabasaltic rocks of the upper crust. The granitoid magma underwent extensive fractional crystallisation of biotite ± hornblende, ilmenite, titanite, K-feldspar and plagioclase during emplacement. The crystallisation temperature of the magma lies in the range 633–733 °C, however, there is no evidence to suggest crustal assimilation occurred during its ascent. Like the ∼500 Ma, I-type granite of this study, there occur numerous granitoid rocks of Early Palaeozoic age (490–470 Ma) in adjacent regions across the entire Tengchong–Baoshan Block ( Chen et al., 2004, 2005; Song et al., 2007). This episode of plutonism is coeval with the widespread granitoid magmatism found throughout the Indian Plate and the Himalayan Orogenic Belt that are both subordinate parts of the ancient, Gondwana supercontinent. We infer, therefore, that the Tengchong–Baoshan Block may also have formed part of Gondwana, and that it separated from this supercontinent along with other crustal blocks during the Late Palaeozoic. Moreover, based on the findings of this study, we document the occurrence of arc-related magmatism in the Tengchong–Baoshan Block during the late Palaeoproterozoic.

Lower‐crust S‐wave velocity beneath western Yunnan Province from waveform inversion of dense seismic observations

AbstractWe use teleseismic body waveforms to explore S‐wave layered velocity structures beneath 30 portable digital seismic stations deployed around western Yunnan Province. Results show that the Moho depth in this region is ∼40 km and decreases in general from north to south, consistent with previous geophysical studies. Associated with this lateral variation of the Moho depth, the lower crust above the Moho discontinuity has a 15–25 km thick zone with an S‐wave velocity lower than that of the upper crust. This lower velocity zone might be interpreted as a lower crust weak channel, which may mechanically partially decouple the upper‐crust deformation from the underlying mantle. Thus, the inverted S‐wave velocity structure could provide new evidence for the lateral flow of lower crust in the build‐up of the south‐eastern Tibetan plateau.

Crystallisation conditions (T, P, fO2) from mineral chemistry of Cu- and Au-mineralised alkaline intrusions in the Red River–Jinshajiang alkaline igneous belt, western Yunnan Province, China

The Oligocene Yao’an syenite porphyry, associated with gold mineralisation, and the Machangqing alkali granite porphyry–monzonite porphyry, associated with Cu mineralisation, belong to the Red River–Jinshajiang alkaline igneous belt that formed in a continental setting in southwestern China. A study of the mineral chemistry of major silicate minerals in these two mineralised intrusions provides insights into their overall crystallisation conditions. The temperature and pressure conditions, derived from amphibole–plagioclase and perthite–plagioclase geothermometry and Al-in-amphibole barometry, suggest that the Yao’an intrusion crystallised at around 820 ± 50°C and 0.9–1.3 kbar, whereas the Machangqing intrusion crystallised at around 730 ± 50°C and 2.2–2.8 kbar. The higher temperature and lower pressure of crystallisation for the Yao’an intrusion relative to the Machangqing intrusion indicates that it was emplaced at a shallower crustal level. Based on biotite composition, the two intrusions formed under imposed oxygen fugacities above the Ni–NiO buffer (NNO), and the Yao’an intrusion crystallised under more oxidising conditions than the Machangqing intrusion. The results show that the intrusions associated with Cu–Au mineralisation in the Red River–Jinshajiang alkaline igneous belt were emplaced at a relatively high fO2, which, together with the weakly fractionated magma, favoured Au enrichment relative to Cu in the belt.

Paleophytochemical Constituents from the Pliocene Fossil Wood of Pinus Armandii from Longling, Yunnan

Abstract: Specimens of fossil wood preserved lignified in Pliocene brown coal and identified as Pinus armandii Francher come from an opencast coalmine at Longling in western Yunnan Province, China. Phytochemical investigation of the fossil wood isolated using liquid column chromatography seven compounds (1–7) including a new fluorene derivative named 11,11‐dimethyl‐11H‐benzo[b]fluorene. A further 28 volatiles were detected by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), Spectroscopic investigation methods, including MS and 1D and 2D‐NMR techniques elucidated the structure of the seven compounds. Two types of natural products, isopimara and stilbene commonly occuring in extant and Pliocene fossil P. armandii indicate phytochemical fidelity during burial under certain circumstances in sediments. Discovery of stilbenes that can inhibit the activities of wood‐destroying fungi in the Pliocene P. armandii prompts the assumption that the chemical preservation of this Pliocene fossil wood of P. armandii in brown coal might contribute to the presence of inner natural inhibitors against wood‐destroying fungi.

Ore-forming material sources of the Baiyangping Cu-Co-Ag polymetallic deposit in the Lanping Basin, western Yunnan Province

The ore-forming material sources of the Baiyangping copper-cobalt-silver polymetallic deposit have been studied in view of the S, Pb, C, O and H isotopic characteristics and the ratio of Co/Ni of cobaltite. The results showed that sulfur in metallic sulfides may have come from a mixed sulfur-source consisting of the sulfur-source from metamorphic rocks in the basin basement with basic volcanic rocks and the sulfur-source from basin sulfates; lead in the ores was provided by the sedimentary rocks and basement rocks; CO2 in ore-forming fluids was derived from thermolysis of altered and normal marine facies carbonates and decarboxylation of sedimentary organic matter respectively; the ore-forming fluids belong to the SO4-Cl-Na-Ca-type basin thermal brines derived from paleo-meteoric waters; cobalt in the deposit may also be derived from the metamorphic rocks in the basin basement with basic volcanic rocks.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Ainsliaea (Asteraceae) in the Sino-Japanese region based on nuclear rDNA and plastid DNA sequence data.

The flora of the Sino-Japanese plant region of eastern Asia is distinctively rich compared with other floristic regions in the world. However, knowledge of its floristic evolution is fairly limited. The genus Ainsliaea is endemic to and distributed throughout the Sino-Japanese region. Its interspecific phylogenetic relationships have not been resolved. The aim is to provide insight into floristic evolution in eastern Asia on the basis of a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Ainsliaea species. Cladistic analyses of the sequences of two nuclear (ITS, ETS) and one plastid (ndhF) regions were carried out individually and using the combined data from the three markers. Phylogenetic analyses of three DNA regions confirmed that Ainsliaea is composed of three major clades that correspond to species distributions. Evolution of the three lineages was estimated to have occurred around 1.1 MYA during the early Pleistocene. The results suggest that Ainsliaea species evolved allopatrically and that the descendants were isolated in the eastern (between SE China and Japan, through Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands) and western (Yunnan Province and its surrounding areas, including the Himalayas, the temperate region of Southeast Asia, and Sichuan Province) sides of the Sino-Japanese region. The results suggest that two distinct lineages of Ainsliaea have independently evolved in environmentally heterogeneous regions within the Sino-Japanese region. These regions have maintained rich and original floras due to their diverse climates and topographies.