Plants in Nepal
PLANTS
Of the total number of species found globally, Nepal possesses 2.80 percent plants. Research in 2006 showed that Nepal has 6,391 flowering plant species, representing 1,590 genera and 231 families. Nepal’s share of flowering plant species is 2.76 percent of the global total compared to earlier records of 2.36 percent. Nepal’s share of pteriodophytes is 5.15 percent compared to earlier records of 4.45 percent.
There are 2,532 species of vascular plants represented by 1,034 genera and 199 families in the protected sites. Some 130 endemic species are found in the protected sites.
Taking into consideration the ecology and vegetation, Nepal could be divided into four floristic regions i.e.
(a) western
(b) north-western
(c) central, and
(d) eastern, and bio-climatically these are broken down into twenty regions from humid tropical climate to the arid, alpine regions.
There are 399 endemic flowering plants in Nepal of which about 63 percent are from the high mountains, 38 percent from the mid hills, and only 5 percent from the Tarai and Siwaliks. Similarly, the central region contains 66 percent of the total endemic species followed by 32 percent in the western and 29 percent in the eastern regions.
Medicinal Plants
The Himalayas are famous for medicinal plants and have even been mentioned in the Ayurveda. Many of the herbs and plants found in the Himlayas are used in traditional healing systems like Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic, Amchi etc. Some of these plants are even used for allopathic medicines. Medicinal plants are abundantly found in the Terai region of Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Bardia, Dhanusha, mid hilly region of Makhwanpur, Syangja, Kaski, Lamgjung, Dolakha, Parvat, Ilam, Ramechhap, Nuwakot, and the Himalayan region of Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Manang, Mustang and Solukhumbu.
Orchids
Worldwide, there are some 500 to 600 genera of orchids and some 20,000 to 35,000 names, and out of this, Nepal has 57 genera (27 Terrestrials and 30 Epiphytic) with a few Lithophytes. Nepal is endowed with an incredible variety of orchids scattered across the country. Dedrobium is the largest species, followed by Habenaria and Bulbophyllum. Anthogonium, Hemipilia and Lusia are some of the other varieties amongst the nearly two dozen single species families.
For more information about Nepal’s plant resources,
Please visit: http://www.dpr.gov.np/
(official web site of the Department of Plant Resources, Ministry of Forests & Soil Conservation).
