Santa Cruz Island
The Galápagos Islands are known to be one of the most famous stops made by the HMS Beagle during her circumnavigation around the globe, aboard which the young naturalist Charles Darwin made his first collections and observations about the adaptations of species to the environment upon arrival to the islands on September 15th, 1835.
Not as well known as Darwin’s visit, but still quite important for the Galápagos was the visit in February 1795 of the HMS Discovery, with aboard another naturalist, Archibald Menzies.
His collection set the way for what were to be the first studies of the botany of the archipelago. Later expeditions by David Douglas, Jhon Scouler, James Macrea, Charles Darwin, N.J. Andersson, Alban Stewart, Paul A. Colinvaux, Ira L. Wiggins and Duncan M. Porter, among others, have contributed greatly to the classification of plants in the Galápagos National Park.
Certainly, these unique islands and their wildlife would not exist without all their flora.
And that is how we now know that there are 863 members (species, subspecies, and varieties) of the plant kingdom, of which 749 members are flowering plants or angiosperms and 216 or 28.8% are endemic, meaning unique to the archipelago.
The genus Scalesia represents by far the plant kingdom’s best example of adaptive radiation, with 15 species and a total of 19 members if one includes subspecies and varieties. The cacti are also well represented, the genus Opuntia having 14 endemic members including 6 species. And these are just two of many examples of how plants have found a way to adapt and evolve in the most extraordinary conditions.
This afternoon was spent exploring the highlands of Santa Cruz, where a lush and shiny green forest offers us a unique chance to share with nature the sighting of many of these plants. Here the giant tortoises roam freely using the cloud forest as their home place, and offering a chance for the famous Darwin’s finches to co-exist in harmony.
The Galápagos Islands are known to be one of the most famous stops made by the HMS Beagle during her circumnavigation around the globe, aboard which the young naturalist Charles Darwin made his first collections and observations about the adaptations of species to the environment upon arrival to the islands on September 15th, 1835.
Not as well known as Darwin’s visit, but still quite important for the Galápagos was the visit in February 1795 of the HMS Discovery, with aboard another naturalist, Archibald Menzies.
His collection set the way for what were to be the first studies of the botany of the archipelago. Later expeditions by David Douglas, Jhon Scouler, James Macrea, Charles Darwin, N.J. Andersson, Alban Stewart, Paul A. Colinvaux, Ira L. Wiggins and Duncan M. Porter, among others, have contributed greatly to the classification of plants in the Galápagos National Park.
Certainly, these unique islands and their wildlife would not exist without all their flora.
And that is how we now know that there are 863 members (species, subspecies, and varieties) of the plant kingdom, of which 749 members are flowering plants or angiosperms and 216 or 28.8% are endemic, meaning unique to the archipelago.
The genus Scalesia represents by far the plant kingdom’s best example of adaptive radiation, with 15 species and a total of 19 members if one includes subspecies and varieties. The cacti are also well represented, the genus Opuntia having 14 endemic members including 6 species. And these are just two of many examples of how plants have found a way to adapt and evolve in the most extraordinary conditions.
This afternoon was spent exploring the highlands of Santa Cruz, where a lush and shiny green forest offers us a unique chance to share with nature the sighting of many of these plants. Here the giant tortoises roam freely using the cloud forest as their home place, and offering a chance for the famous Darwin’s finches to co-exist in harmony.
