NATURAL DISTRIBUTION OF Vitex altissima IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Vitex altissima is one of the most important timber species in Sri Lanka. Traditionallytimber of this species is used for construction of door and window frames. Historicalrecords reveal, this is a widely distributed species in Sri Lanka found both in dry zone andwet zone. However due to over exploitation, this species has become somewhat rare inmany parts of the country.

The NCR study shows the distribution of woody species in the country. It has a higherrelative frequency in disturbed forests than in least disturbed forests. It is more common inperipheral areas of the forests. The NCR results revealed that V altissima has a widedistribution range The distribution range of V altissima is from very dry monsoon foreststo ever wet rain forests. However, it is not recorded in sub-montane or montane regions.This data shows V altissima is not a rare species and it has a wide distribution in lowcountry irrespective of rainfall. This information on ecological range of this species can beused in forest management.