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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. |
