Malesia
Malesia is a phytogeographic region and is part of the Paleotropic . It includes the Malay Archipelago from Sumatra and the south of the Malacca Peninsula to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago as well as the Philippines . The natural vegetation is mainly tropical rainforest .
flora
The Malesian flora is characterized by several large genera and families . The orchids comprise about 4000 species, the largest genera being Bulbophyllum and Dendrobium .
Trees from the following families are dominant: Myrtaceae , Dipterocarpaceae , Myristicaceae , Sapotaceae , Fabaceae , Lauraceae , Annonaceae , Palmae and Moraceae . The species-richest genera are cherry myrtle , ficus and elaeocarpus , each with over 400 species.
vegetation
The natural vegetation is dominated by tropical rainforest , which is divided into lowland (up to 1200 m), lower (1200–1500 m) and upper (1500–3000 m) montane rainforest. In addition, there is its own vegetation at special locations, such as the rainforests over lime, over ultrabasic rock , heather forests on podified sandy soils, mangroves and swamp rainforests.
A second aspect is the deciduous monsoon forests in areas with a pronounced dry season.
See also
literature
- TC Whitmore: A Vegetation Map of Malesia at Scale 1: 5 Million . Journal of Biogeography 11, 1984, pp. 461-471. Url
- CGGJ van Steenis: Flora Malesiana. Present and prospects . Taxon 1, 1951, pp. 21-24. Url
