Flora of Armenia is diverse and unique!

Flora makes our world even more beautiful, it provides us with oxygen, and we do not even think about it or notice, and often we even destroy the flora of our country in place of protecting and promoting its prosperity.

The flora of Armenia in terms of the number of plant species is in the first lines of the list of countries in the world. Although Armenia has small territory, its flora is rich and unique.

About 3500 plant species from 150 families grow in Armenia and about 108 species of them are found only in Armenia. Also, over time, new species are found in Armenia, which are new not only in this mountainous country, but also throughout the world.

Let's study a little more about the flora of Armenia and try to increase its number.

The flora of Armenia includes 4 taxonomic groups – algae, fungi, lichens and vascular plants.

In Armenia, algae are relatively poorly studied. Their biodiversity is represented by 143 species, mainly belonging to green, diatoms, yellow-green and blue-green algae.

There are 4200 species of fungi in Armenia, and 2 of them are endemic in Armenia.

Microscopic fungi include 125 species of peronosporales, most of which are extremely dangerous parasites and pathogens.

Today, 290 lichen species are known in Armenia, and the basin of Lake Sevan, where 190 lichen species are found, has been studied in most detail.

Vascular plants include groups of higher plants, in which there are about 3500 species (almost 50% of the flora of the Caucasus).

Knowledge about the flora will help people be careful with the plants and not cause their eradication.

Dendroflora of Armenia is represented by 300 species.

More than 250 species of wood and shrub plants grow in the forests of Armenia. The main forestforming species are broad-leaved trees, which occupy 81.3% of the forest area. These are such trees as oak, beech and hornbeam, and about 8% of the forest area is pine.

Besides the trees mentioned above, also other types of trees grow in the forests of Armenia, such as willow, Euphrates poplar, English Yew, various types of lindens and many others. In the forests of Armenia, wild fruit trees such as apple, sweet cherry, cherry, dogwood and many others can often be seen.

People need to learn more about the flora and protect it, as it not only provides us with oxygen, but also has amazing beauty.

The breathtaking natural beauty of Armenia is mainly due to the flora of Armenia!

Armenia has a rich variety of endemics thanks to the geographical features, change of the climate, soils, large differences in elevation, and the presence of freshwater resources. There are approximately 120 species of endemic flora in Armenia – about 3% of the total species of its flora. The southern and central arid regions of the republic are the richest in endemic species.

Approximately ten percent of the plant species in Armenia are medicinal plants.

These types of plants are mainly used in traditional medicine, and each year they are used more and more, it is a reason to worry, as these types of flora can start disappearing because of its frequent use.

Not only the medicinal plants can be met in the flora of Armenia, but also poisonous plants, the use of which can lead to sad consequences. People who have studied the flora well enough can distinguish poisonous plants from other types of plants, but the people, who do not have enough knowledge about the flora and plants can easily confuse the poisonous plants with edibles, as they can look alike.

The flora of Armenia is rich in edible plants. Since ancient times, Armenians have studied the flora and used both medicinal and edible plants. They passed on all their knowledge about the flora of Armenia from generation to generation.

There are 290 species of edible mushrooms in Armenia, as well as about 300 species of edible herbaceous plants, which are used both fresh and processed form.

Many plant species may disappear in Armenia. This happens as a result of natural processes and human activities. To date, approximately 35 species of plants have disappeared in Armenia, plants which have a huge economic importance. Also, according to the information of 2011, 452 species – approximately 14% of the total flora of Armenia, are included in the Red Book.

We all should study our environment and the flora to avoid the disappearance of already endangered plant species, cause most often it happens due to human activities.