According to the IUCN, natural unmanaged vegetation covers more than 75% of Laos and about half the country bears natural forest cover. Of these woodlands about half can be classified as primary forest - a very high proportion in this day and age - while another 30% pr so represents secondary growth. Laos ranks 11th worldwide in terms of natural forest cover and in Southeast Asia only Cambodia boasts more, though rampant illegal logging there could soon reverse those positions.

Most indigenous vegetation in Laos is associated with monsoon forests, a common trait in areas of tropical mainland Southeast Asia that experi­ence dry seasons lasting three months or longer. In such mixed deciduous forests many trees shed their leaves during the dry season to conserve water. Rainforests - which are typically evergreen - don't exist in Laos, although nonindigenous rainforest species such as the coconut palm are commonly seen in the lower Mekong River valley. There are undoubtedly some big trees  in Laos, but don't expect the sort of towering forests found in some other  parts of Southeast Asia - the conditions do not, and never have, allowed  these sort of giants to grow here. Instead the monsoon forests of Laos typically grow in three canopies. Dip-terocarps - tall, pale-barked, single-trunked trees that can grow beyond 30m high - dominate the top canopy of the forest, while a middle canopy consists   of an ever-dwindling population of prized hardwoods, including teak, padauk (sometimes called 'Asian rosewood') and mahogany. Underneath there's a variety of smaller trees, shrubs, grasses and - along river habitats - bamboo. In certain plateau areas of the south, there are dry dipterocarp forests in which the forest canopies are more open, with less of a middle layer and more of grass-and-bamboo undergrowth. Parts of the Annamite Chain that receive rain from both the southwestern monsoon as well as the South China Sea are covered by tropical montane evergreen forest, while tropical pine forests can be found on the Nakai Plateau and Sekong area to the south. In addition to the glamour hardwoods, the country's flora includes a toothsome array of fruit trees, bamboo (more species than any country outside Thailand and China) and an abundance of flowering species such as the orchid. However, in some parts of the country orchids are being stripped out of forests (often in protected areas) for sale to Thai tourists; look for the markets near the waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau to see them. In the high plateaus of the Annamite Chain, extensive grasslands or savanna are common.