It was during a hike through the cloud
forest in Ecuador in November 2004 that
I came across this flower near the trail.
The photograph was taken in the early afternoon
as the heavy mists began to descend across
the forest and water had collected on the
petals.
Cloud forests exist between 1800m and 3500m
where the landscape is masked with wet, green
and vibrant vegetation. The cloud forests are
shrouded in heavy mists for at least part of
each day as moisture from the lowland forests
rises, cools and condenses. The moisture leads
to an abundance of epiphytes (lichens, mosses,
ferns, orchids and bromeliads) which live on
the trees in the forest in a symbiotic relationship.
The epiphytes collect and hold the moisture,
leading to the lush forests. With at least
3500 species of orchids, Ecuador is thought
to be home to more orchids than any other country
in the world and as many as 200 species have
been found within one square kilometer. |
