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

Lolot (Piper sarmentosum)

Lolot pepper ( Piper sarmentosum ) is a species of plant in Piperaceae, perennial herb, erect or lodging, creeping rhizome, up to 120 cm long, branched, enlarged branches, cylindrical stems, brown or green, often grooved, growing on the forest floor and shade. P. sarmentosum has leaf stalks up to 15 cm long, up to 13 cm wide, green, alternately arranged, heart-shaped, pointed tips and flat margins. The leaves have 5 main veins from the base of the blade, linear and slightly curved to the tip, glands on the upper surface and many fine pinnate veins. The upper side is shiny green, the lower side is pale green. The flowers are white. The fruit grows in the upper armpit of the leaf, is slightly oval and green. The leaves are used as a medicine for asthma, malaria, stomach ache, tinea versicolor, toothache, difficulty urinating, aches and pains, maintaining stamina, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and so on. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiosperma...

East Indian globe thistle (Sphaeranthus indicus)

Gorakhmundi or gorakh mundi or mundi buti ka phool or mundi booti ka phool or sembung delan or East Indian globe thistle ( Sphaeranthus indicus ) is a species of plant in Asteroideae, a perennial, multi-branched, strong fragrance with erect stems, winged and toothed wings, growing wild in rice fields forming colonies, dense open rugs in the tropics. S. indicus has alternating sitting leaves, oval, narrow at the base, toothed and serrated, 1-3 cm long and green. Leaves 2-7 cm long, 1-3 wide, broad and deep wings, continuing into a large bone in the center of the leaf to a sharp tip and several lateral veins. The flower is round, grows at the tip, has a large and long stalk, is purple in color, 8-15 mm in size, consists of many tiny flowers, green or red or purple and has pale purple stamens. Head ovate-ellipsoid and 12-15 mm long. Phyllaries are white and have purple crest. Female flowers have a corolla tube 2-2.5 mm long. The bisexual flowers are 2.3-3 mm long and the hardened pa...

Liberian coffee (Coffea liberica)

Liberian coffee ( Coffea liberica ) is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family, a tree up to 20 meters tall, with numerous, radial and irregular branches, brown bark, and linear fissures. The leaves are oval, thick, up to 35 cm long, up to 20 cm long, shiny green, and have petioles up to 1 cm long. The fruit is round to oval, irregular, and up to 2 cm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Subfamily: Ixoroideae Tribe: Coffeeae Genus: Coffea L. in Sp. Pl.: 172 (1753) Species: Coffea liberica W.Bull in Nursery Cat. (William Bull) 97: 4 (1874) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Coffea abeokutae Cramer in Meded. Dept. Landb. Ned.-Indië 11: 286, 396 (1913) Coffea abeokutae var. camerunensis A.Chev. in Encycl. Biol. 22: t. 44 (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. indeniensis (Siebert) A.Chev. (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. longicarpa Portères in Ann. Agric. Afrique Occ. 1(2): 224 (1937) Coffea abeokutae var. macrocarpa...