Historical records commonly describe Taiwan's original appearance as "covered with mountain forests." And the trees in those forests were largely ancient conifers with high-quality timber, such as Taiwan red and yellow cypress.
許多古籍記載台灣島的原始面貌，總是形容它「遍被山林」；因地形關係，其中大半是材質最佳的紅檜、扁柏等溫帶針葉林。