PROMISCUOUS FLORA STRUT THEIR STUFF IN MINDO

In the cloud forest, plants try harder to look beautifully sexy as they compete for the attention of exotic insects, birds, butterflies, and other fauna romping amongst the rich, damp heat of the morning in Mindo, Ecuador.

After a week of getting wowed by the wilds of the Galapagos, it’s a wonder anything else could have grabbed our gaze at the same level of intensity any time soon, but then we headed up to the cloud forest behind Quito and found ourselves immersed in a new stratum of natural beauty.

Here in the high saddle of the mountains, Mindo, like other cloud forests, is sheathed in moss, softening every step and whisper. Giant ferns and thousands of species of orchids breathe in the mist. Tens of thousands more kinds of brightly colored butterflies and birds, wings heavy with condensed vapor, gently pulse through gnarly trees.

As we dip into our planet’s pockets of extraordinary life, the sexual beauty of plants and animals is most apparent. At the extremes, the more lush or the more harsh the environment is, the more organisms need to compete to attract the attentions of mates and nutrients, and the more they need to protect themselves. These are the places we see extremely beautiful physiques and behaviors.