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LAND
The rich flora of
Indonesia includes many unique varieties of tropical plant life in
various forms. Rafflesia
Arnoldi, which is found mainly in
Bengkulu Province of Sumatra, is the largest
flower in the world. This parasite plant grows on certain lianas but
does not produce leaves. From the same area in Sumatra comes another
giant, Amorphophallus
Titanum, the largest inflorescence of its kind.
The insect
trapping pitcher plant (Nepenthea
spp) is represented by different species in
many areas of western Indonesia.
The myriad of
orchids are rich in species, varying in size from the largest of all
orchids, the tiger orchid or Grammatophyllum
Speciosum, to the tiny and leafless species
of Taeniophyllum which is edible and taken
by the local people as a medicine or used in handicraft. The forest soil
is rich in humus which enables the luxuriant growth of a multitude of
fungi, including the horse hair blight, the luminescent species, the
sooty mould and the black mildew.
The flora also
abounds in timber species. The dipterocarp
family is renown for its timber (meranti),
resin, vegetable oil and tengkawang or
illipe nuts. Ramin,
a good quality timber for furniture production, is produced by the
gonystylus tree. Sandalwood, Ebony,
Ulin and Palembang
timber are other valuable forest products. Teakwood is a product of
man-made forests in Java.
Because the flora
is so rich many people in Indonesia have made a good living on this
natural resource. About 6,000 species of plants are known to be used
directly or indirectly by the people. A striking example in this modern
time is probably the use of plants in the production of traditional
herbal medicine or “jamu”, whereas flowers
are indispensable in ceremonial, customary and traditional rites.
Indonesia’s fauna
can be distinguished between the islands in the west, which are
distinctly Asian and those in the east, where Australian type animals
are found. Amongst the five hundred species of mammals, you can see
tigers, black panther, orangutans, elephants
and the Java rhino in Sumatra; freshwater dolphins, proboscis monkeys in
Kalimantan; and kangaroos and wallabies in
Irian Jaya.
Beside that bears, tapirs and orang
utans have their habitat in
Sumatara and Kalimantan,
buffaloes in Java and Kalimantan.
In its 300 nature
reserves, comprising 120,000 sq km (or 6,5% of the nation’s land mass)
you’ll find an incredibly vast array of animals, mammals,
birdlife, reptiles, freshwater creatures and
marine life. Komodo island between Flores and
Sumbawa is uniquely inhibited by the Dragon’s Lizard or Komodo as
the largest lizard of this kind in the world.
Of the 1,5000
species of birds, you’ll marvel at the flightless cassowary, brilliant
cockatoos, colourful parrots, and if you visit
Maluku and Irian
Jaya, up to 40 species of Birds of Paradise. You can see
countless reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates including giant sea
turtles.
On
Sulawesi alone, there are deer, pigs,
cuscus, the famous Anoa dwarf buffalo, the
Babirusa with its curved tusks growing from
the top of its snout and the heavy set black macaque resembling a
miniature gorilla. In North Sulawesi see the
cute tarsiers with their palm-sized bodies and large saucer-eyes.
Monkeys, deer
snakes, and crocodiles are found in both the eastern and western parts
of Indonesia.
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