Flora of North Korea

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Pinus densiflora, a widespread tree in North Korea Pinus densiflora Kumgangsan.jpg
Pinus densiflora, a widespread tree in North Korea

The flora of North Korea has much in common with that of other areas of the northern hemisphere. 2898 species have been recorded, of which 14% are endemic. Four are classified as threatened. [1]

The native plant communities in the lowlands have largely disappeared with cultivation and urbanisation, and the native conifer forest communities are located in the highlands.

The forest types are mainly subarctic (boreal) and cool-temperate forest. [2]

Pinus densiflora dominates coniferous forests across North Korea, and has also increased in abundance in areas altered by human impact. [2]

The main botanic garden in North Korea is the Central Botanical Garden, established in 1959. It is located at the base of Mount Taesong in Pyongyang. [3]

Three endangered species are so distinctive they have been classified in their own monotypic genera. [3] The endangered Pentactina rupicola of the family Rosaceae is found only near the summit of Mount Geumgang in Kangwon Province. The only member of its genus, its relationships have been unclear, though molecular testing suggests its closest relative is the North American genus Petrophytum . [4] Abeliophyllum distichum is a critically endangered plant from the central Korean peninsula. It too belongs to a genus of which it is the sole member. From Korea it has been introduced to horticulture in England and North America, as well as being cultivated in North Korea. [5] Sophora koreensis was also classified in its own genus, Echinosophora but has since been found to lie within the genus Sophora genetically. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Zelkova</i> Genus of trees

Zelkova is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs to large trees up to 35 m (115 ft) tall. The bark is smooth, dark brown. Unlike the elms, the branchlets are never corky or winged. The leaves are alternate, with serrated margins, and a symmetrical base to the leaf blade. The leaves are in two distinct rows; they have pinnate venation and each vein extends to the leaf margin, where it terminates in a tooth. There are two stipules at each node, though these are caducous, leaving a pair of scars at the leaf base. Zelkova is polygamous. Staminate flowers are clustered in the lower leaf axils of young branchlets; the perianth is campanulate, with four to six lobes, and the stamens are short. Pistillate and hermaphrodite flowers are solitary, or rarely in clusters of two to four, in the upper leaf axils of young branchlets. The fruit is a dry, nut-like drupe with a dorsal keel, produced singly in the leaf axils. The perianth and stigma are persistent.

<i>Dryas</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Dryas is a genus of perennial cushion-forming evergreen dwarf shrubs in the family Rosaceae, native to the arctic and alpine regions of Europe, Asia and North America. The genus is named after the dryads, the tree nymphs of ancient Greek mythology. The classification of Dryas within the Rosaceae has been unclear. The genus was formerly placed in the subfamily Rosoideae, but is now placed in subfamily Dryadoideae.

<i>Sophora</i> Genus of plants

Sophora is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from sophera, an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree.

<i>Potentilla indica</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

Potentilla indica, known commonly as mock strawberry, Indian-strawberry, or snakeberry in North America, is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It has ternate foliage and an aggregate accessory fruit, similar to the true strawberries of the Fragaria genus. Unlike the white or slightly pink flowers of true strawberries, Potentilla indica has yellow flowers, as do many other Potentilla species. It is native to eastern and southern Asia, but has naturalized in many regions worldwide.

<i>Abeliophyllum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Abeliophyllum, the miseonnamu, Korean abeliophyllum, white forsythia, or Korean abelialeaf, is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the olive family, Oleaceae. It consists of one species, Abeliophyllum distichumNakai, endemic to Korea, where it is endangered in the wild, occurring at only seven sites. It is related to Forsythia, but differs in having white, not yellow, flowers.

<i>Purshia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Purshia is a small genus of 5–8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae which are native to western North America.

<i>Nepenthes muluensis</i> Tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo

Nepenthes muluensis, or the Mulu pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It grows in highland habitats at elevations of 1700 to 2400 m above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takenoshin Nakai</span> Japanese botanist (1882-1952)

Takenoshin Nakai was a Japanese botanist. In 1919 and 1930, he published papers on the plants of Japan and Korea, including the genus Cephalotaxus. Between 1943 and 1945, during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Takenoshin Nakai was the director of 's Lands Plantentuin in Batavia.

<i>Polylepis</i> Family of shrubs and trees

Polylepis is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are usually gnarled in shape, but in certain areas some trees are 15–20 m tall and have 2 m-thick trunks. The foliage is evergreen, with dense small leaves, and often having large amounts of dead twigs hanging down from the underside of the canopy. The name Polylepis is, in fact, derived from the Greek words poly (many) plus letis (layers), referring to the shredding, multi-layered bark that is common to all species of the genus. The bark is thick and rough and densely layered for protection against low temperatures. Some species of Polylepis form woodlands growing well above normal tree line within grass and scrub associations at elevations over 5000 m; which makes Polylepis appear to be the highest naturally occurring arboraceous angiosperm genus in the world.

<i>Sibbaldia tridentata</i> Species of plant

Sibbaldia tridentata is a species in the plant family Rosaceae. Its synonyms include the illegitimate name Sibbaldia retusa and Sibbaldiopsis tridentata. Under the latter name, it has been treated as the only species in the genus Sibbaldiopsis. Its English names include three-toothed cinquefoil, shrubby fivefingers, and wineleaf.

<i>Femeniasia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Femeniasia balearica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and it is the only species in the genus Femeniasia.

Platanthera calceoliformis is a species of orchid endemic to north-western Yunnan province, China. It is found at elevations of 3,200–4,000 metres (10,500–13,100 ft) in alpine grasslands. It is listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of China</span> Collective plants of China

The flora of China consists of a diverse range of plant species including over 39,000 vascular plants, 27,000 species of fungi and 3000 species of bryophytes. More than 30,000 plant species are native to China, representing nearly one-eighth of the world's total plant species, including thousands found nowhere else on Earth. China's land, extending over 9.6 million km, contains a variety of ecosystems and climates for plants to grow in. Some of the main climates include shores, tropical and subtropical forests, deserts, elevated plateaus and mountains. The events of the continental drift and early Paleozoic Caledonian movement also play a part in creating climatic and geographical diversity resulting in high levels of endemic vascular flora. These landscapes provide different ecosystems and climates for plants to grow in, creating a wide variety of different flora spanning over not just China, but different parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yerevan Botanical Garden</span>

The Yerevan Botanical Garden of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, is the body responsible for plant collections in Armenia. It is located in the Avan district at the north-eastern part of the capital Yerevan, occupying around 80 hectares of a semi-deserted area. The collection includes more than 200 species of endemic, rare and declining plants, and provides a basis, in a relatively natural environment, for the study of the Armenian flora and the ecological interactions between plant species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment of North Korea</span>

The environment of North Korea comprises the diverse ecosystems of the part of the Korean peninsula controlled by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This includes alpine, forest, farmland, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

<i>Hanabusaya</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hanabusaya is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, containing the single species Hanabusaya asiatica. It is endemic to Korea. It is known in English as diamond bluebell and in Korean as Geumgang Chorong, having been named for the site at which it was first discovered, Geumgangsan Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Madagascar</span> Plants endemic to Madagascar

The flora of Madagascar consists of more than 12,000 species of plants, as well as a poorly known number of fungi and algae. Around 83% of Madagascar's vascular plants are found only on the island. These endemics include five plant families, 85% of the over 900 orchid species, around 200 species of palms, and such emblematic species as the traveller's tree, six species of baobab and the Madagascar periwinkle. The high degree of endemism is due to Madagascar's long isolation following its separation from the African and Indian landmasses in the Mesozoic, 150–160 and 84–91 million years ago, respectively. However, few plant lineages remain from the ancient Gondwanan flora; most extant plant groups immigrated via across-ocean dispersal well after continental break-up.

<i>Iris minutoaurea</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris minutoaurea is a beardless iris in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Chinenses of the genus. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial of eastern Asia, native to China and Korea. It has been naturalized in Japan. It has long grassy-like leaves, short stem and bright yellow or pale yellow flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Rosemary Margaret Smith (1933–2004) was a Scottish botanist and illustrator who specialized in the taxonomy of the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family. Many of the species she classified and identified as being placed into improper genera were found in Asian countries, especially in the isolated island of Borneo.

References

  1. Haggett, Peter (2001). Encyclopedia of World Geography. Marshall Cavendish. p. 3088. ISBN   0761472894.
  2. 1 2 Jirí Kolbek; Ivan Jarolímek; Milan Valachovic (2003). "8: Forest Vegetation of the Northern Korean Peninsula". In Jirí Kolbek; Miroslav Šrůtek (eds.). Forest Vegetation of Northeast Asia. Springer. pp. 264, 294. ISBN   1402013701.
  3. 1 2 Wan Ik Ri (2006). "Botanic Gardens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)". BGCI. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  4. Chunghee Lee; Suk-Pyo Hong (2011). "Phylogenetic relationships of the rare Korean monotypic endemic genus Pentactina Nakai in the tribe Spiraeeae (Rosaceae) based on molecular data". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 294 (3–4): 159–66. doi:10.1007/s00606-011-0457-8. S2CID   40702184.
  5. Kim, Y. S.; Maunder, M. (1998). "Plants in Peril, 24: Abeliophyllum distichum" (PDF). Curtis's Botanical Magazine . 15 (2): 141–146. doi:10.1111/1467-8748.00155. Archived from the original on 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2013-03-27.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. Lee WK, Tokuoka T, Heo K (2004). "Molecular evidence for the inclusion of the Korean endemic genus " Echinosophora" in Sophora (Fabaceae), and embryological features of the genus". Journal of Plant Research. 117 (3): 209–19. doi:10.1007/s10265-004-0150-x. PMID   15221584. S2CID   24527430.