Skip to main content

Bamboo forest of Mount Merapi

Bamboo forest of Mount Merapi is a diverse natural forest area home to various species of bamboo living in the wild on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi in the Turgo region, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. This is a protected area within the Mount Merapi National Park with an total area of 64 square kilometers.

The various bamboo species grow together in a location in the forest and are very dense. A species is only about the size of a little finger growing in clusters, whereas elsewhere different species have giant sizes and are tens of meters high.

Dlium Bamboo forest of Mount Merapi

Mount Merapi National Park has at least six species of bamboo including Cendani bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea), Giant bamboo or Dragon bamboo or Petung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), Ampel bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), Java black bamboo or Wulung bamboo (Gigantochloa atroviolacea), String bamboo or Pring tali bamboo or Pring apus bamboo (Gigantochloa apus) and bamboo Legi (Gigantochloa atter).

This bamboo forest is located on the slopes of Turgo Hill on the south side of Mount Merapi and can only be reached on foot through a trail to climb and down several ravines. Some orchid species including Vanda tricolor stick to large fern trees along the road to get there.

Some bamboo clusters are connected to one another by long roots and sink into the ground like a cable to communicate with each other. Bamboo that grows tightly covers the path creating dark labyrinth passageways.



Some weeds grow in vines and make a circular path snaking on some bamboo trees like a handicraft, while a very rare parasite attaches to the ends of tall bamboo like a bird's nest.

The wind shakes the tops of tall canopies and moves the bamboo and produces very clear sounds. The magical "Krotok ... Krotok ... Krotok ..." sound appears when several bamboo trees rub against each other. The faster the gusts of wind the more sound is created with the sound of the leaves.

Birds chirping endlessly fill spaces into a choir. Various insects produce unique tones, but the presentation together creates a colossal orchestra. A distinctive sound echoed throughout the forest lens.



When the weather is sunny, the sun's rays pierce the grove between the tall pillars produce a beautiful silhouette panorama. In the morning, the rays of reddish light in a green environment like a painting that impresses in a combination of young colors and old colors.

Mount Merapi is the most active volcanic geology in the world, but this bamboo forest area has not been erupted in decades where the continuity of the flora has been maintained. The fertile soil layer continues to support the ecosystem to continue to grow until now.

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

False nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)

False nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family, a herb or small shrub, up to 160 cm tall, usually monoecious but rarely dioecious. The leaves are paired or alternate, and the inflorescence is a spikelet with a cluster of small bracts at the tip. B. cylindrica generally grows to a height of 50-100 cm. Spine-like hairs form in the leaf axils. The leaves are oval and up to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. The flowers are green or greenish-white and emerge from the upper leaf axils. Male and female flowers usually grow on separate plants. Male flowers are more numerous among the spikes in clusters. Female flowers are less evenly distributed along the spikes. The small, oval seeds are covered with small, hook-like hairs. Ripe seeds are dark brown. The inflorescence resembles a spike and is up to 3 cm long. This species can be found in moist to mesic deciduous forest habitats, growing abundantly along streambanks, floodplains, and lowlands. B. cylindrica is ...

Alexandrian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum)

Alexandrian Laurel ( Calophyllum inophyllum ) is a species of plant in the Calophyllaceae family. It is a low-branching, slow-growing, spreading tree with a wide, irregular crown. It grows up to 30 meters tall, has a cylindrical trunk, and thick, black, and fissured bark. The leaves are thick, oval, with rounded tips, even margins, and a smooth surface. The upper side is dark green and glossy, the underside is bright green, with a central vein in bright green. The leaves are up to 27 cm long, 13 cm wide, and have a 1 cm petiole. Flowers bloom throughout the year, but typically from April to June and October to December. Flowers are 30 mm in diameter and occur in racemose or paniculate inflorescences of four to 15 flowers. The flowers have a sweet aroma and attract numerous pollinating insects. The fruit is round, green, up to 4 cm in diameter, with a large seed in the center. When ripe, the fruit wrinkles and turns yellow to brownish. The fruit is light, with thin, spongy flesh and a...