List of plants of Doi Suthep–Pui National Park

This article contains a list of the more than 2,200 vascular plant species of Doi Suthep–Pui National Park in Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand from Maxwell & Elliott (2011:63-154).
Doi Suthep–Pui National Park displays altitudinal zonation. This section lists some of the characteristic species of each floral zone.
Of the 173 tree species which occur in bamboo/deciduous forest, 125 (72%) are deciduous and 31 are common or abundant.
Trees that are commercially valuable include:
Other characteristic trees are:
Common understory trees include:
Characteristic deciduous understory treelets include:
Woody climbers (lianas) are often quite large. There are 55 species, of which 65% are deciduous. They include:
There are 30 shrub species, of which 63% are deciduous. Shrubs are represented by many species in bamboo/deciduous forest. Some typical examples are:
Bamboos include:
Bamboo/deciduous forest supports 38 species of epiphytes, most of which are perennial and 58% of which are evergreen. They mostly belong to 3 groups:
Species particularly characteristic of bamboo/deciduous forest include:
Epiliths include 12 species, usually restricted to rocks in streams. They include ferns such as:
There are also several species of the family Gesneriaceae, include:
The following herbs flower in April before their leaves appear:
Species appearing in May and June, at the start of the rainy season:
Plants that mature by July and August include ferns, etc. such as:
The grass most characteristic of the ground flora in bamboo/deciduous forest is:
Other common grasses, which also occur in other habitats and are highly combustible during the hot dry season, are:
A total of 316 herb species has been recorded in bamboo/deciduous forest, of which 294 are ground herbs. Of those, 65% are perennial.
In seasonally dry or degraded areas, from the lowlands up to about 800-900 m elevation, deciduous dipterocarp-oak forest replaces bamboo/deciduous forest. It is a secondary, fire climax forest which merges with bamboo/deciduous forest, but is never replaced with mixed evergreen/deciduous forest.
It contains less biodiversity with only 99 tree species, of which 24 are common or abundant.
Dominant tree species of the Dipterocarpaceae include:
Common Fagaceae species include:
Other characteristic trees are:
Additional common species:
2 tree species have rapid leaf turnover, flushing new leaves at the same time as the old leaves are shed. They include:
The following tree is very common at higher elevations (650-800 m), along with the two trees listed above:
Deciduous dipterocarp-oak forest supports only 14 species of woody climbers, but the deciduous species that are easily found are:
Shrubs (29 species) and treelets (48 species) are abundant. Some common examples are:
Vines, often found in open, often burned, areas, are also common:
47 of the recorded vascular plant species live as epiphytes. Some of the most characteristic are evergreen, succulent, vines and creepers in the Asclepiadaceae, such as:
There are numerous succulent, evergreen and deciduous Orchidaceae (orchids), such as:
2 deciduous Polypodiaceae (fern) species, both with characteristically distinct growth forms, are also frequently seen:
Of the 274 ground herbs which have been recorded, 111 (40%) are annuals. Some of the more common examples are:
Robust, deciduous Poaceae (grasses) dominate and are all very combustible during the hot dry season from March to May. Some of the more common species are:
Cyperaceae (sedges) are also common in this fire-prone habitat. Typical species include:
Zingiberaceae (gingers) species, all of which are deciduous, are quite common. Typical species include:
Other common ground herbs include:
Common ferns:
From about 800 m elevation (600 m near permanent streams) to about 1000 m, there is a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees.
217 tree species have been recorded, with only about 43% of them being deciduous trees. The tree flora is similar to that of the bamboo/deciduous forest.
The characteristic tall, emergent, evergreen, dipterocarps, which have large gray trunks, small leaves, and open, broad crowns, are:
In contrast, the deciduous dipterocarp-oak forest has large-leaved dipterocarps.
Other common tree species:
Other tall evergreen trees:
Some common deciduous canopy trees are:
Common evergreen understory trees include:
A common deciduous understory tree:
71 treelet and 19 shrub species have been recorded. Common treelets and shrubs include:
Woody climbers are common. 62 species have been recorded, including the following deciduous species:
Evergreen species that are common in this biozone, especially along streams, include:
57 of the vascular plant species grow as epiphytes. The most specious groups are the figs (Moraceae, many of which are epiphytes only when young), orchids, and pteridophytes, but the Gesneriaceae and Loranthaceae are also represented.
Characteristic epiphytes are:
Typical hemiparasites include:
The ground flora is diverse and includes both annual, perennial, deciduous and evergreen species. Of the 278 ground herbs recorded, 25% are annual. Common deciduous herbs include:
Evergreen herb species are more common (comprising 60% of ground perennials) and include:
Typical ferns include:
The upper part of the mixed evergreen/deciduous forest usually merges with the lower part of the evergreen forest at c. 900-950 m elevation.
Evergreen forest supports more tree species than any of the other forest types. 250 species have been recorded, of which only 67 (27%) are deciduous.
The evergreen forest has a wide variety of trees, with no dominant species or genera. Trees belong to diverse families, such as Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Theaceae, Moraceae, Magnoliaceae, and other families.
Characteristic evergreen canopy trees include:
Several gigantic "strangling" figs:
Characteristic Fagaceae species are:
Castanopsis spp. tend to be shared with other forest types, including:
Other characteristic evergreen trees include:
A few of the larger deciduous canopy species include:
Most also occur in the deciduous forest types.
Some of the deciduous trees which are restricted to evergreen forest are relatively rare, including:
Other deciduous trees more typical of deciduous forest types sometimes spread up into evergreen forest due to fires or human disturbance. Common tree species shared with other forest types include:
The understory is denser than that of forests at lower elevations and is especially diverse in stream valleys. Understory trees include:
The following are also common, but grow in disturbed places.
Some understory evergreen tree species, rarely exceeding 15 m tall, include:
Understory deciduous tree species include:
Treelets and shrubs (91 and 22 recorded species, respectively) are numerous. Characteristic treelets include:
Characteristic evergreen shrubs in moist areas include:
Shaded, undisturbed stream valleys often have:
The following species are also common:
A high species richness of woody climbers (78 species) is a notable feature of evergreen forest. Some characteristic evergreen examples include:
The following are also common:
Rattans (the following of which are also evergreen woody climbers) include:
There are numerous epiphytes in the evergreen forest. The "strangling" figs begin life as epiphytes:
Characteristic epiphytic shrubs include:
There are several evergreen hemiparasitic species belonging to the family Loranthaceae:
Characteristic epiphytic vines include:
Epiphytic herbs are almost all perennials. Characteristic species include:
The herbaceous ground flora (321 recorded species) is very diverse and includes numerous species of dicots, monocots, and ferns. Some of the most characteristic ferns in open, fire-damaged place are:
Some characteristic ferns in shaded, mostly pristine areas are:
Some common dicots are:
Common herbaceous monocots are:
Parasitic or saprophytic members of the ground flora include several Balanophora species and others:
Rare orchids include:
On fire-prone, exposed ridges at elevations of about 950–1,800 m, Pinus kesiya grows together with other evergreen forest tree species. In some areas, it is the dominant tree.
Some species more commonly found with Pinus kesiya than elsewhere, mostly due to the acidic lower pH of the soil, include:
Where fires are particularly frequent, plants of deciduous dipterocarp-oak forest spread up into the pine forests at much higher elevations than is typical, including:
In such areas, trees of the Fagaceae family are also common, including:
Altogether 99 tree species have been recorded, of which only 27 (27%) are deciduous.
The ground flora includes 263 recorded herb species, both annuals (32%) and perennials (68%). Annual herbs include:
Some deciduous, perennial counterparts are:
Epiphytes (86 recorded species) are especially conspicuous and include both evergreen species (68%) and annual or deciduous ones (32%). Epiphytic, hemi-parasitic Loranthaceae, all evergreen shrubs, are common:
Autotrophic evergreen, epiphytic and epilithic shrubs are frequently encountered:
Some common evergreen epiphytic and epilithic herbs are:
Some common deciduous epiphytic and epilithic herbs are:
Evergreen epiphytic Orchidaceae species include:
Deciduous epiphytic Orchidaceae species include:
Rare or extinct orchid species include:
35 vine species have been recorded, including:
The summit flora has been significantly altered, especially after the original primary evergreen forest was cleared and replaced with cultivated trees on the summit of Doi Pui in 1955. The soil has also become much more acidic.
Some of the original epiphytic flora has returned to the summit of Doi Pui, such as:
Some evergreen herbs which have returned, albeit in diminished populations, include:
Deciduous herbs are more common, including:
9 plant species, all of which are rare or down to a few individuals, are entirely restricted to summit areas between 1620 and 1685 m above sea level. They are:
However, several species have disappeared from the summit:
Mountains in Thailand that more or less preserve the original vegetation at above 1650 m are Doi Inthanon (2565 m), Doi Chang (1975 m), and Doi Lang Ka (2031 m).
A total of 288 species of ground herbs survives in disturbed areas or secondary growth. 144 species are annuals, and 144 species are perennials. There are numerous annual tertiary growth herbaceous weeds, all of which require exposure to sunlight for germination and growth. Some of the more common species found at all elevations include:
Monocot weeds are also diverse and abundant. Some common examples are:
Robust perennial grasses are especially common in upland areas. They are robust, evergreen, and very persistent weeds in open, fire-damaged, upland areas, and include:
Naturalized woody weeds that often dominate open, disturbed areas are:
Secondary growth treelets (36 species) and trees (81 species) are common seen. If left undisturbed, they are replaced by primary forest trees. Some typical examples are:
Common shade trees include:
Some flowers and shrubs are:
Medicinal plants:
Exotic ornamental plants:
Plants species with large, colourful inflorescences, which have now escaped cultivation and are extirpating native species:
In the Hmong village of Doi Pui, located within the park boundaries, plant species utilized by the local people include the following.
Araceae species listed in Sungkajanttranon et al. (2019):