Bangladesh has four different areas of vegetation. The central zone, covering parts of the country to the north of Dhaka, contains many lakes and supports swampy vegetation; the soil of part of this zone produces the Madhupur jungles. The area lying to the northwest of the Jamuna and to the southwest of the Padma forms a flat plain, the vegetation of which consists mostly of cultivated plants and orchards. Babul is the most conspicuous tree. The southern zone along the Bay of Bengal contains the vast wetlands of the Sundarbans, with their distinctive mangrove vegetation. Several of the mangrove species are commercially valuable, including the sundari, for which the Sundarbans are named, and the goran. Also valuable are the gewa or gengwa trees, which yield a softwood used for making newsprint. Among the astounding variety of flowers are water lilies, marigolds, tuberoses, and Chinese hibiscus. The bokul is a common shrub that produces small red berries.
