Flora in Campudia

 

FLORA   The central lowland consists of rice paddies, fields of dry crops such as com and tobacco, tracts of reeds and tall grass, and thinly wooded areas. The transitional plains are mostly covered with savanna grasses, which grow to a height of 1,5 m.    In the south-west, virgin rainforests grow to heights of 50m or more on the rainy seaward slopes of the mountains. Nearby, higher elevations support pine forests. Vegetation in the coastal strip includes both evergreen and mangrove forests. In the northern mountains there are broadleaf evergreen forests with trees soaring 30m above the thick undergrowth of vines, bamboos, palms and assorted woody and herbaceous ground plants. The Eastern Highlands are covered with grassland and deciduous forests. Forested upland areas support many varieties of orchid.   In the past two decades, a great deal of deforestation has taken place, and the pace has been quickening over the past five years. Both the Malaysians and the Indonesians have bought major timber concessions and illegal logging is widespread.    The symbol of Cambodia is the sugar palm tree, which is used in construction (for roofs and walls) and in the production of medicine, wine and vinegar. Because of the way sugar palms grow (over the years, the tree keeps getting taller but the trunk, which lacks a normal bark, does not grow thicker), their trunks retain shrapnel marks from every battle that ever raged around them. Some sugar palms have been shot clear through the trunk.    FAUNA   Cambodia's larger wild animals include bears, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, tigers and oxen. The lion, although often incorporated into Angkorian heraldic devices, has never been seen here. Among the country's more common birds are cormorants, cranes, egrets, grouse, herons, pelicans, pheasants and wild ducks. These and some rarer species can be seen at the Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary near Siem Reap. There is also a great variety of butter flies. Four types of snake are especially dangerous: the cobra, the king cobra, the banded krait and Russell's viper.   Endangered Species   Cambodia is home to a number of diminishing species including elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards and tigers, but very little is known about numbers as their habitats are extremely remote.   In 1995 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced a fundraising campaign to save the tigers of lndochina. There are thought to be tigers in Virachay National Park and remote parts of Mondulkiri, but they are threatened by poachers. Magical powers of potency (sexual, mainly) are ascribed to tiger parts throughout Asia, especially by the Chinese.   Given that much of the country has been off limits for such a long time, some suggest Cambodia harbours animals that have become extinct elsewhere in the region. For the moment it remains conjecture, but as the national park system becomes more effective it is hoped that whatever is out there will at least be protected.   Sightings of rare storks last seen in Laos in 1993 were reported in early 1995. Meanwhile, the kouprey (wild ox), adopted by Sihanouk as the national animal in 1963, is thought to linger on in very small numbers in the north-east of Cambodia. The discovery of an isolated herd of Javan rhinoceroses in south-west Vietnam in 1998 suggests that there may be more in nearby Mondulkiri.   Swimming in the rivers of Cambodia are some of the last remaining freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins. These inhabit stretches of the Mekong between Kratie and the Lao border. There are fewer remaining here than in Laos, but it is still possible to see them near Kratie, particularly in the dry season when the river level is low. The giant catfish, known to reach up to 5m in length, is also threatened due to its popularity on menus from Hong Kong to Tokyo.   Other creatures on the endangered species list include the marbled cat, the pileated gibbon, the brown-antlered deer, Marshall's horseshoe bat, the giant ibis and the Siamese crocodile