The natural vegetation occupies an area of about 14,365 km2. which is nearly 64% of the total geographical area of the State. The vegetation consists of a large variety of plants ranging from short and tall grasses, reeds and bamboos to trees of various species. Broadly, there are four types of forests below:
Teak, Pine, Oak, Uningthou, Leihao, Bamboo, Cane, etc. are important forest resources growing in plenty. In addition, rubber, tea, coffee, orange, cardamom, etc. are also, grown in hill areas. Food and cash crops occupy the main vegetation cover in the valley.
The hills of Manipur are covered with dense evergreen forests. Several varieties of flora are available in Manipur. The vegetation is luxuriant. The vegetation of Jiribam and flat Central Valley is much like the vegetation in Moreh area. Most of the flora resemble with that of Assam. Some of the vegetation of north-eastern region is similar to that of Bhutan and some plants of south-eastern region are like those of Upper Burma. Rhododendron, cotton, cane, bamboo, cactus, wild flowering plant, famous orchids, lotus, water lilies, etc grow here. Rice, cotton, maize, wheat, millet, mustard, potato, til, Matikalai dal, etc are grown in the plains. Pineapple, jack fruit, sugarcane, mango, orange, banana, plantains, peas, apples, guava, chillies, cabbages, pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, betal leaves are also grown in abundance. Tobacco is also cultivated as common garden crop. Carthoammus tinctorius was once widely cultivated to dye the cloths and yarns.
Tiger is found in the hilly areas of Manipur. Leopard, bear and wolf are also found in the hill forests. Mithun (Bos Fronalis) which is semi- domesticated animal is found in the north western part of the state. Elephant, barking deer, spotted deer, sambar and Manipur Sangai deer (Rucervus eldii eldii), goral (Manipuri Sabeng), monkey, jackal, wild pig, wild dog, wild cat, rat, snake, lizard, toad, vulture, eagle, jungle crow, bulbul, maina, wild goose, duck, etc are also found here. The number of the animals and birds is declining due to cruelty of hunters. Keibul Iamjao National Game Sanctuary of the state is situated near Logtak Project, 39 kms south of Imphal. Varieties of fish are found in Logtak lake and also in most of the rivers.
The forest products of Manipur are rich. These are timber,sal, bamboo and cane, thatch, dye-tree, bee-wax, perfume, etc. Forest trees in the interior hill areas are gradually decreasing due to shifting cultivation or burning of forests over large areas also construction of houses and firewood. In 1980-82, the forests covered an area of 13,572 sq. km of the state which was 15,090 sq. km in 1972-75. Thus, the forest area has gone down in Manipur. The large scale deforestation will result in soil erosion at an alarmingly accelerated level which may lead to floods during monsoon. A big area of the plain, adjoining Logtak lake is covered by a wide stretch of grass jungle.
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