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
Rising heat
Nepal is getting warmer every year. Plants that like cool air have to climb higher up the mountain to stay comfortable — but a mountain only goes so high.
7
Plants this affects
Rhododendron arboreum
Middle Hills · High Mountains
Nepal’s national flower. When the hills turn red in spring, this is the tree doing it.
Doing okay
Swertia chirayita
Middle Hills · High Mountains
A bitter mountain herb used for fever. Many hill families earn real money growing it — which is why growing it matters more than digging it.
At risk
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
Ficus religiosa
Terai · Siwalik (Chure) · Middle Hills
The tree with heart-shaped leaves that whisper in the smallest breeze. Almost every Nepali village square has one.
Doing okay
Bombax ceiba
Terai · Siwalik (Chure)
In late winter the simal drops every leaf and covers itself in huge red flowers instead. Birds come from everywhere to drink.
Doing okay