Betula utilis
High Mountains · High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
The last tree you meet before the mountain becomes rock and snow. Ancient books were written on its papery bark.
Doing okay
Contents
Plants of Nepal
Ecosystem
Climate change
Environment-friendly behaviour
High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
4000–8848 m
Above the treeline. Dry, windy, and very cold, with cushion plants and alpine herbs that hug the ground to survive.
19 Districts
6
plants
Juniperus indica
High Mountains · High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
A low, tough shrub burned as incense in mountain homes and monasteries. Its smoke smells like cold clean air.
Doing okay
Taxus wallichiana
High Mountains · High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
A slow, dark mountain tree whose bark contains a medicine used to treat cancer. That discovery nearly wiped it out.
In real danger
Nardostachys jatamansi
High Mountains · High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
A high-mountain herb with a hairy root that smells deeply of earth and wood. It has been traded across Asia for two thousand years.
Almost gone
Dactylorhiza hatagirea
High Mountains · High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
A small purple orchid whose root looks like a tiny human hand — five fingers, which is exactly what its name means.
Almost gone
Rhododendron anthopogon
High Himal & Trans-Himalaya
A tiny cousin of the gurans that grows above the treeline, in cushions low enough to hide from the wind.
Doing okay