I've decided to make a series of posts with my observations at the recent visit to the
Ethugala rock in the middle of
Kurunegala. Surrounding the rock is a small forest, the exact area of which I don't know yet. Nor do I know what type of forest it exactly is yet, but I guess it to be a mix of lowland wet and dry zone forests, with tall trees drown closely together, some canopy, but much less underbrush, ferns, orchids and moss. See how the forest is grown on both sides of the twisting road that gets you to the top of the rock.
This palm,
Caryota urens , is locally called
Kithul. A sugary fluid can be collected by manipulating the flower in a certain way,which is used to produce treacle, todi, and and jaggery.
There is some vegetation on the rock surface too, but they are sort of pygmy, a natural
bonsai effect caused by lack of soil to grow in.
This is a rare sight, a flowering
Corypha umbraculifera (Talipot palm).(center of the pic) This palm bares a flower only once with in its lifetime, and considered a bad omen by local folks when it does.
There is plenty of evidence that a considerable proportion of the forest is secondary forest, clearings and coconut palms.
All right, that's all for today, but, to be continued, stay put!
I've decided to make a series of posts with my observations at the recent visit to the Ethugala rock in the middle of Kurunegala. Surrounding the rock is a small forest, the exact area of which I don't know yet. Nor do I know what type of forest it exactly is yet, but I guess it to be a mix of lowland wet and dry zone forests, with tall trees drown closely together, some canopy, but much less underbrush, ferns, orchids and moss. See how the forest is grown on both sides of the twisting road that gets you to the top of the rock.
This is a rare sight, a flowering Corypha umbraculifera (Talipot palm).(center of the pic) This palm bares a flower only once with in its lifetime, and considered a bad omen by local folks when it does. 
