PlantsMap

EN PL

5 plants worth knowing

Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste occupies the eastern part of the island of Timor, which lies on the boundary between Asia and Australia, beyond the Wallace Line. The landscape is mountainous – the highest peak, Tatamailau (Ramelau), rises to almost 3,000 m – and the climate is markedly seasonal, with a long dry season. Savannas and monsoon forests with palms and eucalypts dominate the dry north coast, while the cooler, wetter mountains are given over to shade-grown coffee plantations.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Arabica coffee 1

    crop

    Arabica coffee

    Coffea arabica

    Timor gave birth to the famous “Timor Hybrid” – a natural coffee cross that saved coffee growing around the world.
  2. Indian sandalwood 2

    tree

    Indian sandalwood

    Santalum album

    Fragrant sandalwood drew Chinese and Portuguese merchants to Timor long before colonisation.
  3. Areca palm 3

    palm

    Areca palm

    Areca catechu

    Areca nut with a betel leaf – Timorese “bua malus” – is offered to guests, at engagements and during every ceremony.
  4. Timor white gum 4

    tree

    Timor white gum

    Eucalyptus urophylla

    One of the few eucalypts that grow naturally outside Australia – it forms forests on the slopes of Timor’s mountains.
  5. Buri palm 5

    palm

    Buri palm

    Corypha utan

    The gebang palm flowers only once in its life, after several decades, sending up a gigantic inflorescence – and then it dies.