Snapshot of the Month

Sri Lanka's wide topographical and climatic variation that ranges from arid scrubby plains to luxuriant wetzone tropical forests has resulted in it being named one of the 32 biodiversity hotspots in the world rich in national and global importance.

Sri Lanka's Floral Diversity

Despite its relative small size, Sri Lanka's rich floral diversity is in fact the highest in Asia in terms of land unit area. Sri Lanka has a very high degree of floral endemism within 15 distinct bio regions, especially among 23% of flowering plants (879 of over 3,300 recorded species) mainly found in the wet evergreen forests of the southwest especially Sinharaja Rainforest and wet montane forests of the hill country. As much as 26% of the island's land area is classified as protected.

Approximately 4,000 plants thrive throughout the island where hardwood trees such as ebony, satinwood, dun and milla abound alongside ferns (57 of 314 endemic), bamboo and palms. The Hill Country is home to some fascinating cloud and dwarf (pygmy) forests including famous Horton Plains. Within these strange grasslands on Horton Plains' remote 2,100 m plateau thrive many species including endemic rhododendrons and protected mosses damply clinging to trees found nowhere else in the world.

Sri Lanka's year-round hot and humid climate in the southwest, and dry and cooler climes of the central highlands have made the island world renowned for its great variety of orchids. Of 166 recorded species, 66 are endemic, including the protected daffodil and Wesak flowering orchids.

Sri Lanka has a year-round supply of fresh fruits both native and introduced that include pineapple, banana, mango and papaya while the months from July to October see a ripening of mangosteen, passion fruit, avocado, pear, rambuttan and oranges.

The island is heady with the scent of spices, many of which are historical exports and had colonial powers vying for control of their trade. They include cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and pepper.