Plants/ Contents

Limestone, quartzite and ultramafic vegetation

Ruth Kiew

Within Malaysia's tall, luxuriant tropical rainforest, strikingly different forest types can be found, which are adapted to specific soil conditions. In these forests, the dipterocarp and fruit tree families typical of rainforests are largely absent. Instead, the forest is made up of smaller trees, often quite spindly, and the canopy is more open. These vegetation types include many endemic species which are adapted to nutrient-poor conditions and, in the case of limestone and quartzite vegetation, to periodic drought and, for ultramafic conditions, to tolerance of heavy metal toxicity.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Limestone vegetation
  • Quartzite vegetation
  • Ultramafic vegetation
  • Conservation
Orchid

The white-flowered, terrestrial orchid paphiopedilium niveum is a rare species confined to limestone habitat.