| Wildlife of India |
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Theflora of India is one of the richest in the world due to the wide range of climate,topology andhabitat in the country.
There are estimated to be over 18,000 species of flowering plants in India, which constitute some 6-7 percent of the total plant species in the world. India is home to more than 50,000 species of plants, including a variety ofendemics. The use of plants as a source of medicines has been an integral part of life in India from the earliest times. There are more than 3000 Indian plant species officially documented as possessing into eight main floristic regions :Western Himalayas,Eastern Himalayas,Assam,Indus plain,Ganges plain, theDeccan,Malabar and theAndaman Islands.[1]
In 1992, 743,534 km2 of land in the country was forested of which 92 percent was government land. This amounts to 22.7 percent land coverage, compared to the recommended 33 percent of theNational Forest Policy Resolution 1952.
The majority of trees are broad-leaveddeciduous, with one-sixthsal and one-tenthteak.Coniferous types are found in the northern high altitude regions and largely comprisepines,junipers anddeodars.[2]
India'sforest cover ranges from thetropical rainforest of theAndaman Islands,Western Ghats, andNortheast India to theconiferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie thesal-dominatedmoist deciduous forest of eastern India;teak-dominateddry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and thebabul-dominatedthorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. Pine, fir, spruce, cedar, larch and cypress are the timber-yielding plants widely prevalent throughout the hilly regions of India.
India's great diversity of climates, from tropical to arctic, contribute to its extraordinarily rich and varied vegetation.[3] From the coniferous and alpine forests of the Western and Eastern Himalayas to the evergreen woods of Assam, the dry vegetation of the Indus plain, and the mixed deciduous forests of the Deccan, the nation is separated into eight floristic areas, each with its own unique plant communities.
The Andaman Islands are renowned for its mangrove and evergreen forests, while the humid Malabar region is home to both lush forests and important plantation crops.[3] With about 46,000 known plant species, of which roughly 15,000 make up the primary vascular flora, India is ranked eighth in the world for plant variety. Over 800 plant species are utilized by tribal people, according to ethnobotanical research conducted by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). However, habitat degradation has put some 1,336 species in danger, and about 20 may already be extinct. As a result, BSI published the Red Data Book to list endangered plants.
