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| Sunday, 11 December 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Sinharaja's fascinating plant life
During the last two weeks we explored the butterflies and woody trees in the Sinharaja forest. This week we will focus on its plant life at the ground level. There is a special plant, with an attractive purple and red flower which grows in Sinharaja and surrounding areas. As those of you who have been to Sinharaja may have noticed, this flower could be seen growing in an area about one to two kilometres proceeding towards the Sinharaja forest, as if announcing the approach to Sinharaja. Commonly known as ground orchid, the Phaius luridus grows in areas cleared by logging, where it can get enough sunlight. The plant also likes the mountain side, attaching itself to slopes and ridges Another flowering plant in and around Sinharaja with flowers that produce a lot of nectar is the Bovitiya plant grown in clearings, mainly on the roadsides, the nectar of which attracts butterflies. Three varieties of Bovitiya could be seen in Sinharaja. While two are native to Sri Lanka with purplish red flowers, the species with white cream flowers is an introduced species, which is now becoming a threat to the two native species. Binara, a small plant seen in the clearings and by the roadside is another important plant. With small blue/violet flowers, Binara (Exacum species) is now confined to protected forest areas, such as Sinharaja, Knuckles and Horton Plains. Four species of Binara are found in Sri Lanka, of which two are endemic (Exacum trinervium and Exacum Walkeri) and are now threatened species. Sinharaja's ground flora produces one of the most amazing 'traps' invented by plants to kill insects. Bandura/pitcher plant (Nepenthus species) a very common sight in Sinharaja is a carnivorous (flesh eating) plant that traps insects to meet its requirement of nitrogen. The pitcher plant, native to Sri Lanka thrives on marshy ground in shady places. Being a climber, it clings to branches of other plants by coiled leaftips which act as tendrils. These leaftips or tendrils develop into pitchers, the very end of it taking the shape of a pitcher with a lid to cover it. These pitchers are colourful and look like flowers. In fact it is called Bandura mal (flowers) in Sinhala, and some of us may have thought it is a flower.Its flowers are simple greenish white, small and insignificant compared to the pitchers. However, the pitchers are what attracts insects by secreting nectar. At the rim of the pitcher are glands secreting nectar, while the glands secreting digestive juice are situated at the base. A clear liquid is collected at the bottom of the pitcher. As the insects, in search of nectar wonder about, they sometimes walk on the slippery inside surface of the pitcher, fall into the liquid collected at the bottom and drown. Though they try to get out of the trap, the slippery surface and a fringe of sharp teeth at the top make it impossible for them to escape from the trap. Once the insect falls into the pit, the digestion starts. Digestive juices are secreted into the liquid and the digested food is then absorbed and distributed through the plant. If you take time to observe the ground flora of Sinharaja you will find many wonders. In the primary forest areas of Sinharaja, with a thick growth of woody trees, forming the canopy, sub canopy and understorey, there is very little ground flora. The ground is covered with thick layers of dead leaves. These areas with the leaf cushions to absorb water feel rubbery and spongy, and is fertile ground for the growth of algae and fungi. Some areas of these leaf mats would be found with patches of different shades of white. If you care to move a leaf or two you can see the leaves bound together with thin, sticky strands of a substance similar to the make- up of a spider's web. These are the fungi growing on the leafmat. The villagers living in and around Sinharaja are fond of these areas.They call them "Hathupola" (mushroom garden). These are the areas where thousands of mushrooms spring up during the season. Villagers keeping note of the 'mushroom gardens' get the harvest, which they cook for their consumption, or sell. The fungi not only provide food, they add beauty and colour to the Sinharaja forest as well. Growing on dead tree trunks, branches and even on rocks, they produce the most beautiful and colourful mushrooms that light up Sinharaja. - Vimukthi |
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