The major part of Kamchatka plants belong to endangered species, included into the Red Book.
Among them are large flowered slipper and Jatabe slipper, Kamchatka abies and a lot of others.
The relief, climate, active volcanoes and isolation of Kamchatka gives an inimitable peculiarity to its flora.
The flora of the peninsula is comparatively poor in species.
The flora comprises 1300 species of vascular plants, many species of moss and approximately 400 species of lichen.
The sub-meridian location of ranges and climatic regions determined the peculiarity of the direction of nature zones.
They are stretched not according to latitudes ( as characteristic of the rest of Russia), but according to meridians.
On the seacoast of Kamchatka the tundra-forests go far to the south of the peninsula.
The predominance of the mountain relief causes a clearly expressed vertical zonality of vegetation.
In Kamchatka 7 zones of vegetation are distinguished.
The lower zone is formed by coniferous forests with trees 200-300 m high.
Higher, 600-800m, there is the zone of stone birch forests.
Then the zone of bushes - elfin alder and elfin cedar begins.
They cover the slopes of mountain ranges and plateaus.
Higher they change into low grass, alpine meadows and dry tundras.
The highest zone is the waste-grounds without all-round vegetative cover.
Here only moss and lichen grow.
Still higher (1400m) there are snow banks and glaciers.
The peculiarity of Kamchatka flora is the appearing of new plant species:
stonebirch, Kamchatka fir, Avacha birch, asp, larch, elder-leaved rowan, Kamchatka ash-tree.
Kamchatka flora is also peculiar due to its high grass, i.e. the "plants-giants".
Mild sea climate with large amount of precipitation, thick snow cover, river soils create favourable conditions for quick growth of grass.
Shelomainik, for example, can grow with speed of 18 sm per day.
Such dense bushes can hide a horseman with his horse, a bear and other large animals.
Even cultivated plants hear a are higher than anywhere in Russia.
Forests prevail all over the Kamchatka region.
Their total area is 19 644 600 ha.
These are stone birch and coniferous forests and forests situated in the flood plains of rivers.
Stonebirch forests.
The stonebirch or Erman's birch is the main wood-kind of Kamchatka forests.
It takes up vast areas in the middle part of western and eastern seacoasts, on the mountain slopes in the Central Kamchatka lowland.
In mountain regions stone birch can grow at the height of 500-1000 m above sea-level.
This tree can be 15-22 m high.
It is the tree with a life span of 500-600 years.
The stonebirch was named due to its amazing ability of growing even on stones.
Its trunks are curved and bent.
On the plains, in the river valleys, in the lower parts of mountain slopes the stonebirch forms park forests.
White birch forests.
Except stone birch there are some more kinds of birches in Kamchatka.
Among them - white birch or Kamchatka birch ( called "presnets" by local citizens) Its height is approximately 18-19 m.
In birch forests many bushes grow.
For example, Kamchatka honeysuckle, spairie, hawthorn, elfin cedar.
The far-eastern and Middendorfa birches are bushes.
They grow on the swamps, mountain slopes and in tundras.
On the north of the region one can meet small groups of Kayander birch.
It is polar or elfin.
Coniferous forests.
They take up an area of 955,3 thousand ha.
On the whole they grow in the basin of the Kamchatka river, in the plains and foothills (up to 600 m above sea-level).
In some places they grow even on the mountain passovers (1200m high), and in others - they go down to the eastern seacoast.
The larch, Kamchatka or Kuril, is the largest tree of Kamchatka.
Its height is 30-32 m, its diameter - 60-80 sm.
By winter it drops its pine needles. That's why it got such a name.
For the protection of the larch a Severo-Ayansky Zakaznik was established.
Spruce forests.
occupy a considerable area in the Central Kamchatka lowland, which even was named a "fir island".
In the pre-glacial period these forests took up much greater area.
The main representative is Jeddo fir. This tree can be up to 25 m high, it is shadow- and frost resistant and can live 250-300 years.
There are three kinds of fir-groves here: moss groves, high-grass groves and fern groves.
Kamchatka fir remained only on the eastern seacoast, not far from the mouth of the Semyachik river (Kronotsky reserve).
This fir wood is the unique phytogeographic Earth rarity.
This fir wood is known as a reserve area.
The Kamchatka fir is a tree of medium height, not over 17 m.
The bark is smooth and light gray colored.
The Fir wood area 20 ha, and very picturesque.
It is included into the Red Book and into the checklist of rare species of Kamchatka region.
To enlarge its number a nursery was established in the Kronotsky reserve.
Undergrowth.
One of the most distributed sub-alpine undergrowths of Kamchatka is an elfin alder, subdivided into bush alder and Kamchatka alder.
In the foothill (600 - 1200-1400 m above sea level) it is possible to find its dense bushes.
The elfin alder takes roots into all kinds of vegetation and can be seen almost everywhere: both on the coastal mountain slopes and on high mountains, where they grow as low bushes.
They live on an average 40-60 years.
Elfin cedar is usual in the region.
In sub-alpine belt it forms dense bushes in the stony soils. It can grow even on the old lava streams,close to stone birch forests and on the sea coastal hills.
High in mountains this bush is above all the surrounding vegetation.
Lower on the mountain slopes it forms almost impenetrable dense bushes.
In forests elfin cedar can be 4 m high.
It lives on an average 50 years.
Except elfin cedar and elfin alder, the rowan-berry , dog-rose,
various willows and honeysuckle
can also form dense bushes.
All over Kamchatka there grows Siberian juniper.
Kamchatka rhododendron, amazingly beautiful small-leafed shrubbery, is distributed in mountain tundras and stonebirch forests. It is especially protected and very rarely seen.
Its name can be interpreted as follows: "rhodon" - rose and "dendron" - tree.
Rhododendron grows in tundra, on the coastal mountain slopes, on the Comandor Isles.
Rhododendron is a small-leaved shrubs.
Its local names are: "kashkara", "koryak grass" and "katanych".
And all they are included into the checklist of the protected Kamchatka plants.
Meadows.
Meadows are widely distributed and one can see them everywhere in Kamchatka - from seacoasts to the highest zones of vegetation.
Coastal, valley, forest, sub-alpine and alpine meadows are distinguished.
Meadows with giant umbrella plants can be found on river sides.
The stone birch forests are also full of motley grass meadows (local people call them "Alasi" or "Alashi"
Tundra zone.
Valley tundras are distributed on the western and eastern seashores, and on the territory of the Parapolsky Dol.
Here there are mosses, lichens and "spotted" tundras.
Mountain tundras take up the northern part of the region, Sredinnyi and Vostochnyi ranges and volcano plateaus.
The vegetation of hot springs.
The vegetation of hot springs differs by the variety of species. Some of the plants have changed so much, that were distinguished as separate species.
Many kinds of plants such as kamchatka bur-marigold, kamchatka St.-John's wort,
changed so much that now they are distinguished as separate species.
There are several thermophilic aquatic plants can be found in the hottest springs of Kamchatka.
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