Ecuador - Cloud Forests and Snow Capped Peaks
by Günther Eichhorn
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Ecuador - Cloud Forests and Snow Capped Peaksby Günther Eichhorn |
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I stayed in Quito for three days. Quito is at 2,800m (9,200') elevation. Many people have significant problems with the altitude. You need to take this into account when you visit there. I had a little bit of a headache on the first day, and I didn't sleep to well. Otherwise I had no problems.
On the first day I took a city tour and a short excursion to a monument on the equator that is supposedly at the center of the world. On the second day I had a tour to the Mindo Cloud Forest, and on the third day I visited Cotopaxi, the 5,911m (19,393') high volcano south of Quito. A year later I visited Quito again. On one day I took a trip to Otavalo to the indigenous market, past the other large volcano, Cotacachi (4,944m, 16,220' high ).
Quito is a fairly old city. It dates from pre-Columbian and pre-Inca times. The Inca conquered it in the late 15th century. When the Spanish arrived, the Inca emperor Atahualpa had the city razed. The Spanish then founded the current capital on the ruins left by the Inca. Many buildings from the colonial period survive in the Old Town.
I visited the oldest church of Ecuador in the Old Town, the Monastery of San Francisco. Construction of this church started immediately after the founding of Quito in 1534. Another interesting building was the Monastery of San Agustin, a 17th century building with interesting murals. It was the site of the signing of Ecuador's declaration of independence in 1809.
While I visited the Old Town, they were making a film about the fight for independence of Ecuador. They had put sand over one of the streets and were filming the soldiers in their old uniforms next to the Plaza Grande.
Near Quito is the monument for the "Middle of the Earth". They claim that it is the center of the earth. As far as north-south is concerned, they are right. however, as far as east-west is concerned, nobody can really claim that. It is located in the central valley north of Quito, between the two Andes mountain ranges east and west of Quito. It was very dry in that area at the time of my visit, the area had a prolonged drought. It was two months into the rainy season, but they had had no rain so far.
The Mindo Cloud Forest is a forest area located on the pacific side of the western range of the Andes. It is at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 1,500m (5,000 ft). It is usually in the clouds that form along the Andes mountains from the moisture coming from the Pacific. When I went there, it was mostly cloud free, at least for the first part of my visit. The clouds later started to move in. Because of the constant cloud cover, there is lots of water in the cloud forest with streams and waterfalls everywhere. Part of my trip were visits to an orchid museum and a feeding station for hummingbirds.
There are lots of interesting plants in the cloud forest, many orchids, bromeliads, and heliconias. In one area, the road was surrounded by thousands of large orchids. It was quite a show. The most fascinating part was the hummingbird feeding station. I took some nice close-up pictures of the feeding hummingbirds. There were hundreds of them from many different species.
The trip to Cotopaxi showed a completely different flora than the cloud forest. We drove up the road into the Parque National Cotopaxi, all the way to the end of the road most of the way up the side of Cotopaxi. The end of the road is at an altitude of 4,600 m (15,000 ft). This was the highest elevation that I have been on land, slightly higher than Mauna Kea, Hawaii. I did not do anything there, just looked around from the car. Just getting out of the car would have been too much, since I was not accustomed to the thin air up there. Just 200 m lower, I had no problem with walking around to take pictures, but any extra effort rendered me breathless, not from awe about the scenery but from lack of air 
. Unfortunately we were in the clouds all the way to the highest point of the road, so I didn't see the mountain. I did see it during the flight from Quito to the Galápagos islands.
The drive up the road to Cotopaxi starts from the fertile central valley. Pretty soon we were above the tree line in the Andean páramo and saw the alpine type of vegetation characteristic of the higher Andes. The vegetation becomes more and more alpine. at the higher elevations plans with thick, leathery leaves start to dominate. At the very top only lichens are growing. One of the more impressive plants is the Flower of the Andes.
I didn't see many animals during the visit to Cotopaxi. In order to see wildlife, you have to be hiking, not driving. Hiking in the high Andes needs to be planned well, and cannot be done during a short, three day visit. You really need time to get used to the high altitudes.
The indigenous market in Otavalo is quite famous. You can find lots of hand woven carpets and other handmade articles. Nearby Cotacachi village is famous for its leather work. It is well worth visiting.
 Ecuador |  Galápagos |  Amazon Rainforest |
If you know the name of any of the plants or animals for which I don't have a name, I would appreciate it if you would send me that name to email me
The church of the Monastery of San Agustin. (360k)
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A procession to the church of San Agustin. (428k)
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The interior courtyard of the Monastery of San Agustin. (498k)
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Wood carvings in the Monastery of San Agustin. (488k)
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Murals in the Monastery of San Agustin. (403k)
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The Plaza Grande. (320k)
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Filming of a movie about the independence war of Ecuador. (415k)
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One of the soldiers in the film. (211k)
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Crowds in the film, waiting for their part of the show. (354k)
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One of the typical buildings in the old town, with shop areas on the ground floor, and balconies on the second floor. (386k)
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A statue on the hill overlooking the old town. It is "La Virgen del Panecillo", a replica of one of the statues in the church of San Francisco. (203k)
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The church of the Jesuit monastery. (267k)
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The church of San Francisco, the oldest church in Quito. (333k)
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The interior of the church of San Francisco. (584k)
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The interior of the church of San Francisco. (613k)
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A street vendor selling lottery tickets. (294k)
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An old native Indian woman. (437k)
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Two old native Indian woman having a snack and a chat. (376k)
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An old native Indian woman. (352k)
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The monument at the "Middle of the Earth", called "La Mitad del Mundo". (276k)
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View of the indigenous market in Otavalo. (573k)
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A Native Indian woman in the indigenous market in Otavalo. (432k)
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Scenes from the indigenous market in Otavalo. (395k)
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Scenes from the indigenous market in Otavalo. (379k)
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Scenes from the indigenous market in Otavalo. (352k)
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Scenes from the indigenous market in Otavalo. (326k)
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A view of the central valley north of Quito. (363k)
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Farming in the central Andes valley south of Quito. (227k)
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South of Quito. (281k)
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Snow capped peaks in the western Andes range, south of Quito. (153k)
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Central Andes valley, south of Quito. (262k)
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Local village near the Cotopaxi National Park with the traditional grass covered huts. (447k)
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Farming in the low plains near Guayaquil. (276k)
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An Inca building that is used today on a farm south of Cotopaxi. (474k)
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An Inca building that is used today on a farm south of Cotopaxi. Notice the very well built bottom part, which is Inca, and the much less well built top part, which is recent. (565k)
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Inca burial mound south of Cotopaxi. (248k)
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Typical view of the Mindo Cloud Forest (without clouds though). The silver tree is a Cecropia palmata. It has bright sivrery leaves that makes it very conspicuous. (722k)
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A waterfall in the cloud forest. Water is plentiful here. (564k)
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A more typical view of the cloud forest with the clouds. (318k)
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In the cloud forest. (692k)
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Bromeliads in a tree (Tillandsia sp., possibly Tillandsia hamaleana). (534k)
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Bromeliads on a tree. (263k)
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A fern (Polypodium levigatum). (614k)
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This Polypodium levigatum has spores on the underside of the leaves. (273k)
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A succulent plant. (479k)
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Anthurium sp.. (371k)
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Tropical plant, probably Xanthosoma. (566k)
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An old leaf of a plant called Pumamaqui, eaten away by insects. (548k)
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Agave sp. (766k)
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Tropical plant (248k)
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Tropical plant (302k)
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Fuchsia sp. (probably Fuchsia dependens). (155k)
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Tropical plant (219k)
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Tropical plant (153k)
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Tropical plant (503k)
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Tropical plant (184k)
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Tropical plant (288k)
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Tropical plant (430k)
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A terrestrial orchid, Elleanthus robustus. (240k)
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Tropical plant (197k)
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Tropical plant (218k)
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Fruiting body of an Anthurium. (306k)
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Heliconia sp. (183k)
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Tropical plant (149k)
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Tropical plant (132k)
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Tropical plant (possibly Pitcairnea nigra, a type of bromeliad). (230k)
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Guzmania melinonis, a type of bromeliad. (158k)
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Orchids (275k)
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Orchid (Cattleya sp.). (189k)
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Orchid (Paphiopedilum sp.). (174k)
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Orchid (either Masdevallia sp. or Dracula sp. (175k)
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Orchid (Pleurothallis sp.). (201k)
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Orchid (217k)
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Orchid (155k)
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Orchid (probably Stanhopea sp.) (194k)
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Heliconia flower. (273k)
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Banana flower and fruits. (335k)
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Butterfly (227k)
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A little lizard (197k)
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Booted Racket-tails (Ocreatus underwoodii) at a feeding station. (304k)
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Bird (245k)
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Purple-bibbed White-tip (Urosticte benjamini) (261k)
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Andean Emerald (Agyrtria franciae) (235k)
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Hummingbird (154k)
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Purple-bibbed White-tip (Urosticte benjamini) (162k)
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Violet-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis) (247k)
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Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingi) (130k)
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Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingi) (263k)
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Andean Emerald (Agyrtria franciae) (147k)
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Hummingbird (179k)
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Andean Emerald (Agyrtria franciae) (242k)
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) (183k)
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Hummingbird (163k)
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Hummingbird (271k)
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Booted Racket-Tail (Ocreatus Underwoodii) (173k)
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Booted Racket-Tail (Ocreatus Underwoodii) (158k)
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Booted Racket-Tail (Ocreatus Underwoodii) (154k)
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Purple-throated Woodstar (Calliphlox mitchellii) (232k)
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Valley on the bottom flank of Cotopaxi. (348k)
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View of Cotopaxi through the clouds. (97k)
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View from Cotopaxi across the páramo, the high plain. The plain is at an altitude of about 3000m (10,000'). (202k)
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View of the páramo, the high plain north of Cotopaxi. (291k)
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Vegetation at around 4000m (13,000') altitude on Cotopaxi. Mostly grass and some wildflowers grow here. (385k)
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Vegetation at around 4600m (15,000') altitude on Cotopaxi. There is not much growing at that altitude. (246k)
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Cotopaxi from the air. (132k)
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Cotopaxi from the air. (154k)
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The second larges volcano, Cotacachi, from the ground. (298k)
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Cotacachi from the air, reaching above a cloud layer. (97k)
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Cotopaxi from the air, reaching above a cloud layer. (94k)
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Both Cotopaxi (on the right), and Cotacachi above the clouds. (143k)
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Water fowl on a small lake on the high plain north of Cotopaxi. (238k)
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A seagull on a small lake on the high plain north of Cotopaxi. (293k)
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Bomarea caldasii sp. caldasii. (253k)
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Loricaria thyoides. (175k)
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Wildflower. (136k)
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Chocho del páramo (Lupine, Lupinus pubescens). (150k)
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Chocho del páramo. (382k)
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Puya clava-hérculis. (646k)
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Alpine plant. (662k)
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Cacho de Venado (Deer's Antlers, Halenia weddeliana). (213k)
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Equisetum sp.. (291k)
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Alpine plant. (429k)
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Hypochaeris sessiliflora. (259k)
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Alpine plant. (226k)
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Pajonales del páramo (Stipa ichiu). This type of grass was used to cover the huts in one of the previous images. (477k)
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Lancetilla del páramo (Castilleja pumila). (317k)
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Lancetilla del páramo. (137k)
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Bidens anticola. (133k)
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Plantago rigida. (485k)
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Culcitium uniflorum. (158k)
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Culcitium uniflorum. (213k)
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Culcitium uniflorum. (139k)
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Chuquiraga (Flower of the Andes, Chuquiraga jussieui). (194k)
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The Flower of the Andes. (266k)
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The so-called "Flower of the Andes". (173k)
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Lichens. (726k)
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Culcitium nivale. (265k)
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Alpine plants with Culcitium nivale in the center. (363k)
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Alpine wildflower. (228k)
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Lycopodium crassum. (313k)
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Fern. (335k)
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All pictures are © Günther Eichhorn
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