Tibet is richly endowed with plant resources, with more than 9,600 species of wild plants, and 6,400 species of higher plants. They include 39 species which are subject to national protection. Gyirong, Yadong and Zhentang in southwest Tibet and Medog, Zayu and Lhoyu in southeast Tibet are known as museums of rare plants found even in the Northern hemisphere. Even in north Tibet, with its extreme natural conditions, there are more than 100 species of plants.
Forest coverage rate averages 9.84 percent in Tibet. Common tree species include Himalayan pine, alpine larch, Pinus yunnanensis, Pinus armandis, Himalayan spruce Himalayan fir, hard-stemmed long bract fir, hemlock, Monterey Larix potaniniis Tibetan larch, Tibetan cypress and Chinese juniper. The coniferous forests composed of spruce, fir and hemlock have the widest distribution, accounting for 48 percent of the total forest area in Tibet, with their reserves making up 61 percent of the total. Pine forests cover about 926,000 hectares in Tibet. The Tibetan longleaf pine and lacebark pine are the species peculiar to the region, thus being put under the state-level protection.
As one of the five largest pastoral areas in China, Tibet boasts 82.66 million hectares of grassland and 23 million heads of livestock, annually producing 9,00 tons of wool, 1,400 tons of cashmere, and 4 million pieces of cowhide and sheepskin. The bulk of Nagqu and eastern Ngari constitute major part of Tibetan grasslands, totaling some 600,000 square km, or half of Tibet's total.
There are over 1,000 kinds of plants with medicinal properties. They include some 400 kinds medicinal herbs commonly used in the traditional Chinese medicine, and some 300 kinds used to make Tibetan medicine with special curative effect. Major ones include tuber of elevated gastrodiae, safflower, bulb of fritillary, pseudo-ginseng, rhubarb, root of hairy asiabell, large-leaved gentian, root of red-rooted salvia, glossy ganoderma and reticulate millettia. These medicinal herbs are so high in production that, after satisfying the needs of the Tibetan-inhabited areas, there is still a surplus to be exported to other parts of China. Some are even sold overseas.
In addition to the aforementioned wild plant resources, the forests hold many kinds of fungus. Of the 200-plus fungi, many are edible, including some kinds of mushrooms Auricularia auricula-judae and tre-mella. Tibet also produces precious medicinal fungus including glossy ganoder-ma, Chinese caterpillar fungus, fuling (Poris cocos), and stone-like omphalia.
The major grain crops in Tibet include qingke barley and wheat. The main bean plants include broad bean and pea. Rapeseed is the major oil bearing crop. The subtropical areas in southeast Tibet produce such grain and cash crops as rice, corn, buckwheat, Chinese sorghum, peanut, and sesame seeds. In the past 10-odd years, the region has introduced green-house technology, enabling a variety of vegetables to be grown on the highland.Variety of vegetables are grown in Tibet. Tibet also produces apple, pear, peach, banana, orange, grape and some other kinds of fruit.
(Source : China's Tibet Facts & Figures 2008)
