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PLANT LIFE
Ujung Kulon National Parks is one of the lastremaining natural forest on Java and one very few areas offering a profile of
sea shore to mountain top tropical vegetation. The Park holds well over 700
species of plant life of which at least 57 are classified as rare in Java and
perhaps the world.
LOWLAND RAIN FOREST
Amongst the most fascinating of
the Park's plant life are the many species  of figs. These can take the form of
trees, climbers or epiphytes and are the larders of the forest that provide
abundant fruit for the wildlife. The strangling fig begins from seed deposited
in cavities in the trunks or branches of large trees by birds, bats and other
small animals. Once germinated, the fig sends veils of tendrils down into the
soil witch then form a lattice work of roots around the trunk of the host tree.
Eventually, over-whelmed by the vigorous fig, the host tree dies and rots away,
leaving within the roots of the fig the hollow shape of the original tree, its
strangled victim. A number of trees such as the kigentel, the tokbrai and the
kondang produce flowers and fruit on their lower trunks or larger branches
rather than at the usual twig ends. Why this interesting characteristic, called
cruciform, has evolved is puzzling. One theory is that the fruit of these
plants, being more accessible to larger animals, allows the seed to be
scattered over a wide area. However other animal such as monkeys and birds
become more vulnerable because they must leave the safety of the forest canopy
to feed upon the cauliflorous fruit.
The climbing lianas are a feature of rain
forest and grow towards the light without damaging the host tree. These vines
only fruit and flower in the forest's canopy and to regenerate must reach the
sunlight. They create aerial pathways for wildlife, assisting in their search
for food and in seed dispersal. Several species which include kowao, leksa and
asahan are water-logged with sap.
Not only animals benefit from climbing plants.
Certain climbers are of high medicinal value and are used in the treatment of
cancer and in Indonesian traditional tonics jamu. Others provide the Derris
root powder used in insecticides or the latex in chewing gum while yet another
produces a  substance that is 1,500 times sweeter than sugar. Another climber is
the aggressive rattan, valued in furniture making, which use the thorns on its
whip-like tendrils to attach itself to vegetation and passer-by. The angle of
the thorns enable the rattan to anchor deeper with any attempt to pull away
from it. As with other palms, its tightly folded immature leaves are very
palatable to wildlife
One of the characteristics of Ujung Kulon's
forest is the wide variety of palms of which the most common is the langkap.
Although these forests are found in very few others locations in the whole of
the Malayan region, its rapid regeneration and ability to spread into
undisturbed forest has made this a dominant species in Ujung Kulon. Rain
forests also hold a wide variety of epiphytes and although they also grown on
trees, inflict no harm. They include the splendid bird's-nest. ferns and an abundance
of orchids. The brilliant white with a yellow centre Moon orchid, the deep red
Pipit orchid, the white to purple-pink Dove orchid, and the tiny white Squirrel
tail which only opens for one day, are just a few of the varieties.
RIMARY FOREST
The most obvious characteristic of these areas
are large trees with high canopies and ore open undergrowth which usually makes
walking in this type of forest not difficult. The argent area of primary forest
in the park stretches from the highest point of the Gunung Honje Range to the
south coast. On the Ujung Kulon Peninsula, roughly a third is primary forest.
It covers most of the Gunung Payung Range with a narrow band crossing eastward
to a large oval-shaped tract in the central Telanca Plateau. Peucang island also
has a fine, although unusually spacious example while on Panaitan island it is
isolated to the slopes of Gunung Raksa. The tallest of the trees in Ujung
Kulon's forest include the fan palm gebang, the bengang and the salam which can
grow beyond the high canopy species to heights of 40 meters. Just beneath them
are the large trees such as bayur, gadog and in the Gunung Honje region the
putat, all of which may grow to 35 meters with under-stories at 20 to 30 meters
beneath the closed canopy. Of these trees, the salam, bayur and putat are the
ones which have the largest plank buttresses flowing from their trunks to the
soil.
SECONDARY FOREST
The young secondary forest lies between the primary
forest and the coast, occupying most of the Ujung Kulon Penninsula, Panaitan
Island and the lower slopes of the Gunung Honje Range. The density of the
vegetation can make this type of forest impenetrable and jungle-like in places.
A common tree of the secondary forest is the bungur. This tree produces a
spectacular purple display and its prolific flowering around October to
November is believed by local people to indicate the beginning of the rainy
season. Most of the bamboo species found in Indonesia are not truly native but
this does not apply to the two predominant species in Ujung Kulon. The bambu
cangketeuk favours steep slopes and river banks while the bambu haur like the
wet soil of the uplands. the impressive
giant bamboo, used in furniture making, is not common in the park and tends to
be associated with former cultivation sites.
COASTAL FOREST
The most outstanding trees of the coast include
the pagoda-shaped ketapang and the bust nyamplung which has bunches of bright
green fruit resembling large marbles.The sands are often scattered with the
magnificent white-petered flower of the broad, low-branched butun tree. These
flowers are as large as an opened hand and hold numerous pink tipped stamens
which exude a strong, rich perfume. They drop to the ground in the early
mornings where they are raided by pollen collecting wasps before rapidly
wilting. The hibiscus-like flower of the waru laut change in color from bright
lemon to a deep brownish pink and are also widely found on the sea shores. Of the
coastal vegetation the most distinctive is the giant pandanus. Its notable
features are large reddish pineapple-shaped fruit and a network of tripod-like
supporting roots emerging from the trunk some metres above the ground. Large
stands of pandanus arre found along the south coast of Ujung Kulon. The coconut
palms, although not numerous, are believed to have been mostly planted by
people rather than washed up by the sea and often indicated the sites of
earlier cultivation in the park.
Beneath the canopy species of the shores are
stretch of tarum, a shrubby lupin-like tree with yellow flowers and long thin
pods behind which shelters the white spidery-flowered bakung lily, used by
local people as fishing lures. While twining across the sands from the verges
of the forest are the bright pink flowering convolvulus. The mangroves forest
of Ujung Kulon are mainly situated along the shores of Welcome Bay and their
root systems can vary in appearance. Some are stilt-like, as found in the surprisingly
attractive mangrove lined rivers of the Cihandeuleum and Cikabeumbeum. Another
species has roots poking above the mud allowing them to breathe at low tide and
these can be seen south of Tamanjaya. Yet another has tendril-like roots
hanging from lower branches.
The mangroves' fruit and seed systems also have special
adaptations such as seedlings that germinate while still attached to the parent
tree allowing them to quickly take root once they drop. Their seeds come in a
wide variety of shapes and sizes and being buoyant can drift in water for
weeks. Mangrove forest support a wide range of other life forms including
marine life and are one of the most productive of all the natural environments
that the bounteous rain forests contribute to our planet..
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