Sinharaja Forest Reserve

             The Flora at Sinharaja Forest

• The vegitation of Sinharaja may be described either as a tropical lowland rain forest or tropical wet evergreen forest.
• Some striking characteristics of the forest are the loftiness of the dominant trees, the straightness of their bole, the abundance of regeneration and the diversity of species. 
• Average height of the trees varies between 35m – 40m.some individuals rise even up to 50m.
• The vegetation of Sinharaja is that of humid wet evergreen forest type with a high degree of endemism.
• In fact some families such as Dipterocarpaceae show an endemism more than 90%.
• The untapped genetic potential of Sinharaja flora is enormousOut of the 211 woody trees and lianas so far identified within the reserve 139 (66%) are endemic.
• Similarly, high levels of endemism are perhaps true for the lower plants like ferns, epiphytes as well. 
• Out of 25 genera endemic to Sri Lanka 13 are represent in Sinharaja.
• The total vegetation density, including trees, shrubs, herbs and seedlings has been estimated to be around 240,000 individuals per hectare, of which 95% comprise individuals of the ground layer below 1m in height.
• The density of trees, lianas above 30 cm girth at breast height, ranges between 600 – 700 individuals per hectare while the number of merchantable individuals of trees of girth grater than 150 cm ranges between 45-55 individuals per hectare.