Plants
Sinharaja is a forest with a complex vegetation structure that can be categorized on the basis of several factors such as life-forms, strata, and vegetation types. The forest has many layers including the canopy, sub-canopy, under-storey, shrub layer, and ground layer. Additionally, there are vegetation types like stranglers, epiphytes, parasites, and saprophytes. The plants can either be photosynthetic, non-photosynthetic, semi-parasitic or fully parasitic, and can represent several stages of maturity. Tree fall gaps, which are gaps that arise in the canopy due to the collapsing of an old tree, are important for seedlings and saplings to grow.
A variety of plants with known benefits to humans are present in Sinharaja, including the palm Kitul, which is used to get jaggery, and the Weniwal, which has medicinal purposes. Researchers have found that of Sri Lanka's 830 endemic species, 217 trees and woody climbers are found in the lowland wet zone, of which 139 are found in Sinharaja,...
A variety of plants with known benefits to humans are present in Sinharaja, including the palm Kitul, which is used to get jaggery, and the Weniwal, which has medicinal purposes. Researchers have found that of Sri Lanka's 830 endemic species, 217 trees and woody climbers are found in the lowland wet zone, of which 139 are found in Sinharaja,...
