Venezuela: Mt Roraima – Orchids of Mount Roraima

The mysterious Roraima is world-famous for its flowers that grow only here and nowhere else on earth – carnivorous sundews and pitchers and some of the most amazing orchids. There are nearly 60 species of orchids on top of the mountain and at the foothills and the cloud forest. Most are endemic and the sheer variety is mind-blowing. The orchids near the base of the plateau are large and tropical while the ones on the top have the austere beauty of surviving in harsh and wet environment of over 9000 feet of elevation. The most common genus on top of the plateau is Epidendrum and new species are still being discovered.