FLORA AND FAUNA OF PRIMORYE Кavalerovo School 1

FLORA AND FAUNA OF PRIMORYE Кavalerovo School #1

PRIMORYE Primorsky Region, or Primorye (which means “the Seaside”) occupies the southeast of Russia. It is located in the most southern part of the Far East on the Japanese Sea coast. Its territory is 1, 659, 000 square km.

The population of Primorsky Region is about 2 million people. Primorsky Region includes a continental part and numerous islands. Primorsky Region bounds the Korean Democratic Republic on the south and the Chinese National Republic on the west. The tiger is the symbol of Primorye. You can see it on the flag and on the coat of arms of Primorsky region.

The legend about the creation of PRIMORYE There is a legend: while distributing treasures among different lands, God forgot about Primorye. When he remembered, he threw in the leftovers out of his sack. So says the legend.

It is particularly true of the Ussuri taiga, the dense forest of Primorye: species of flora and fauna live in great variety and profusion. As in a fairy tale, the coniferous and deciduous trees of the North are bound up with the lianas of the South.

The Ussuri taiga is unique in its beauty. Nature is generous here: almost 2, 000 plants including 250 tree and shrub species call it their home. Over 30 varieties of birch grow in Primorye and have special qualities. For example, the rare Schmidt birch is stronger than cast iron and sinks in water

The Ussuri taiga is a veritable botanical garden seving the Dauria larch, the Ayan spruce, pine, the silver, fir different kinds of maples birches, the and Manchurian nut-tree, the Amur Amu cork-tree, the ash, the oak, the Amur lilac, the lime, the choke cherry tree, rhododendron and many others.

There are some rare species of trees in Primorye Locally known as cedarthe , Korean pine, is called “red pine” for its beautifull pink wood. “Cedar” nuts contain more oil than walnuts and it is better in quality even than olive oil. Its top quality lumber is used for deck planking and house construction, and is exported from Pimorye. The state Amur cork-tree has the soft silver bark and black pearls of the berries.

The Ussuri taiga is a home to the legendary world-famous “root of life” – ginseng The more you look at the “root of life”, the clearer you can see the shape of a human being. It has long been known to be a good stimulator in the human organism, and it optimizes the body’s natural resistance to stress.

The eleutherococcus Belonging to the same family, the ginseng and the eleutherococcus are rivals in nature. But their pharmacological properties are comparable. Moreover, the eleutherococcus has an advantage over the ginseng: firstly, the reserves of the eleutherococcus in the Ussuri taiga are practically boundless; secondly, it is absolutely harmless. The root extract of the eleutherococcus raises the resistance of the human being to cold and heat, to radiation and intoxication.

The Ussuri taiga is rich in one more medical trasure – Schizandra Chinensis It represents an aboratious, or climbing liana, about 15 metres long and 2 centimeters wide. The liana and the roots smell of lemon. The seeds have the taste and fragrance of a lemon. This is why in Russian it is called “limonnik” which means a “lemon-like” plant. In medicine it is used primarily as a tonic, a stimulator of the cardiovascular system and lungs. It helps to avoid physical and mental tiredness and heavy sleepiness.

Another climbing plant which grows prolifically in Primorye, is the actinidia (or tara vine) represented in several species Actinidia berries are a true store of vitamin C Its berries are edible. Actinidia jam and “raisins” are popular products. Two raisins a day are said to prevent scurvy. Hunters and ginsengdiggers usually had actinidia raisins with them in the taiga.

On Khanka Lakewhich is the largest , body of water in Primorye and borders on the People’s Republic of China, grows the aquatic plant, the lotus. This species is endemic. The lotus was worshiped in ancient Egypt and China. Today it is still worshiped in Tibet and Mongolia, and the Chinese give lotus blossoms as New Year presents.

The fauna of Primorye is also unique. The animal kingdom is variegated as its vegetation. Indeed, the Ussuri taiga has a remarkable diversity of wildlife, its dense forests providing an excellent habitat for species such as the tiger, the Amur leopard, or the Amur ounce, the Himalaian bear

The tiger inhabiting the Ussuri taiga is larger than its Indian counterpart. It grows to a length of 3 metres, a height of 1, 5 metres, and a weight of 250 kilos. Fast and powerful, the tiger can make jumps extending from 5 to 10 meters. Inhabitants of Primorye worshiped the tiger, believing that “amba” was a human being with whom one could reason.

Primorye is a home to a multitude of hoofed animals, from the Manchurian deer, the reindeer, the musk deer, and the Sika) deerto (or spotted the roe, the wild boar others. The spotted deer, also called the , and ‘flower deer’, as well as the Siberian stag (or maral) the Manchurian and deer deserve special attention because of their antlers used to prepare an extract called Pantocrine, a very valuable drug

Wild Animals of Primorye

Primorye has always been famous for its hunting grounds, where professional hunters procured superb furs The Ussuri taiga is inhabited by a wide variety of furbearing animals. The sable, the mink, the otter, the Manchurian squirrel, the Amur badge, thefar do not by fox exhaust the list.

The Ussuri taiga is also known to be the range of a rare butterfly, the Penelope. There were only two speciments kept in the London Entomological Museum. In 1970 A. Kurentsov, the entomologist from Vladivostok, caught a Penelope on the slopes of the mountains. That was an outstanding event of global significance. Even more beautiful is the Ussurian mahagony radiant colours seem to. Its reflect all the colours of the rainbow. The Ussurian mahagony is so large that it can easily be taken for a bird from afar. Once, this rare butterfly, the Penelope, thought to be was extinct

The flora and fauna of the Japanese Sea is rather rich and various. According to the specific variety of fishes the Japanese Sea holds the first place among the seas of Russia. They total 872 kinds here, 179 kinds of which are marketable. The sea is rich in salmon, sea organisms such as crabs, trepangs, mollusca and others.

The floor of the Peter the Great Bay is densely covered with different seaweeds (for example laminaria) The coastal waters abound with all kinds of fish: the smelt, the herring, the flat-fish Its , etc. delicacies as sea mussels, trepangs called “sea (also cucumbers” or “ocean ginseng”), squid, sea urchinsand scallops , , for instance, are items of export.

Fish There about 100 kinds of fishes in the lakes and rivers of Primorye. Among them the representatives of the north and the south live together. The variety of fishing is great: sima, gorbusha, keta, salmon and many others. In mountain rivers magma, gudgeon, and other fish are caught. The traditional objects of marine fishing are such mass species as cod, far-eastern navaga, flatfish and others.

Birds 350 species of birds are found in Primorye. Some of them are rather rare: the Mandarinka-Duck, the Bl stork, the Scaly goosander, the Jap starling, the Black Griffon, the Lar winged Cuckoo. There are more than 107 species in the Red Book. One fourth of them almost disappeared.

Primorye, like most of the regions in our country, faces ecological problems. Many s have been listed as threatened because of it shrinking habitat and pollution. Nature preserves (including the first marine preser the country) are to help to solve the problem

Nature and Preserves All the rare and unique biological resources demand a careful attitude from people. To protect unique nature of Primorsky Region, six preserves have been opened here – more than in any other subject of the Russian Federation. Their names are: Kedrovaya Pad, Lazovsky Preserve, Sikhote -Alin Preserve, Ussuriisk State Nature Preserve, Khanka Natural Preserve, Far Eastern Marine Preserve

n Cedar Fold (Kedrovaya Pad) oldest and smallest is the n Lazovsky preserve most inaccessible and therefore is the n Sikhote-Alin the biggest natural preserve the is on n Ussuriisk State Nature Preservethe only Far Eastern has n In addition to the lotus blooms, herons, storks, and the other rare birds inhabit the Khanka Natural Preserve n The Far Eastern Marine Preserve located in the Peter the is Great’s Bay to the south of Vladivostok. The Preserve is a home to over 3000 plant and animal species and more than 360 bird species preserve, founded in 1916. It is famous for the Far Eastern leopard, an extremely rare endangered species. There also Ussury tigers, wildcats, Manchurian wapiti, and many other animals inhabiting this preserve. quite pristine. Its virgin taiga hosts about 60 mammal species and over 340 bird species Primorsky Territory. Its most exotic inhabitant is the Ussury tiger, the largest feline and tiger subspecies. rehabilitation center for orphaned bear cubs.

Let’s save birds not only because of their nice singing, animals for their beauty, but for our sake!