Trees of Bhutan

Bhutan boasts of about 300 species of medicinal plants and about 46 species of rhododendrons. Some common sights for the visitors are the magnolias, junipers, orchids of varied hues, gentian, medicinal plants, daphne, giant rhubarb, the blue poppy which is the national flower and tropical trees such as pine and oaks. Cypress or Cupressus torulosa is the National Tree of Bhutan. Locally, it is known as ‘Tsenden’.Cypress is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 45 m of height and its trunk can have a diameter of 90 cm.Pinus bhutanica, which may be called the Bhutan white pine is a tree restricted to Bhutan and adjacent parts of northeast India and southwest China (Yunnan and Tibet).The needles are in bundles of five, up to 25 cm long. The cones are 12–20 cm in length, with thin scales; the seeds are 5–6 mm long, with a 20–25 mm wing.
The Flora of Bhutan includes six species of oak: deciduous Quercus griffithii, and the evergreens Q. glauca, Q. lamellosa, Q. lanata, Q. oxyodon and Q. semecarpifolia, all of which are widely distributed, sometimes forming forests of a single species, with Q. glauca being the least common in the areas.Juniperus recurva is a large shrub or tree reaching 6–20 m tall (rarely 25 m), with a trunk up to 2 m diameter and a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown. The leaves are needle-like, 5–10 mm long, arranged in six ranks in alternating whorls of three.