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Flora & Fauna Of Bhutan |
Bhutan has a very rich species
of flora ranging from altitudes as low as 200m
to as high as 4000m. Over 5500 species of
vascular plants have been recorded till date
including 46 species of Rhododendrons and 369
species of Orchids. The Bhutan Himalayas is also
important source of valuable medicinal plants
used in ayurvedic medicine so much so that a
National Institute of Traditional Medicine has
been established at Thimphu . Blue Poppy is one
of the many flowers found abundantly in Bhutan .
Dochula Pass is one of the main places in Bhutan
where you flowers thrive. As one arrives at the
pass the air is heady with the scent of Daphne,
a small shrub with fragrant white flowers,
covering the the slopes where a myriad of
colorful prayer flags stand. The Daphne bark is
used to make traditional Bhutanese paper, which
has the rare characteristic of being termite
proof and thus highly valued for writing
religious scriptures. A little further on, vivid
bursts of scarlet amidst the dense forest signal
the first rhododendrons. Then, etched against
the brilliant blue winter sky are the
magnificent white blossoms of the Magnolia
Campbelli adorning the tall, leafless trees. The
magnolias and the rhodies will continue to
flower for the next two months. The scarlet
rhodies being succeeded by other varieties: deep
and pale pink, lavender, white, yellow, and
orange. Some 54 varieties of this magnificent
species are found in Bhutan .
Bhutan's forest are divided into the Alpine Zone
(4000m and above) where there is no forest
cover, the Temperate Zone falling between 2000
to 4000m with conifer or broadleaf forests, and
the Subtropical Zone with Tropical or
Subtropical vegetation from an elevation of 150m
to 2000m. Forest types include Fir Forests,
Mixed Conifer Forest ; Blue Pine Forest Chirpine
Forest , Broadleaf mixed with Conifer, Upland
Hardwood Forest , Lowland Hardwood Forest , and
Tropical Lowland Forests .
More than 60 percent of the endemic plant
species of the Eastern Himalayas can be found
within Bhutan.Of the 5,500 known species of
vascular plants, 50 or more are endemic to
Bhutan itself. Although a comprehensive
description of Bhutanese flora is yet to be
formulated, it is accepted that several species
are highly valuable for their conservation
properties. These include some for alkaloids and
medicinal properties, some as wild gene pools
for crop research, and those that are potentials
horticultural crops. |
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