以布兰卡山脉为背景的安地斯皇后（莴氏普亚凤梨），秘鲁 Queen of the Andes plants with the Cordillera Blanca massif in the background, Peru (© Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures)

以布兰卡山脉为背景的安地斯皇后（莴氏普亚凤梨），秘鲁 Queen of the Andes plants with the Cordillera Blanca massif in the background, Peru (© Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures)

Mountains fit for a queen

Like sentinels standing guard, these towering stalks are flowers of the queen of the Andes, the world's largest bromeliad—some specimens can grow up to 50 feet tall. This extraordinary plant has adapted to grow only in the adverse conditions found on the high slopes of the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes. To see several of them in bloom at once is truly special, for the queen of the Andes sends up her flowering stalk just once, after a century or so of painstaking growth. A single plant will bloom for about three months, producing anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 flowers, then die.

Because mountains present a variety of altitudes, exposures, and gradients, they host a broad spectrum of climatic zones and ecosystems. The plants in our image are thriving in Peru's Cordillera Blanca (White Range), the highest and most glaciated tropical mountain range in the world. Several peaks in the Cordillera Blanca tower more than 20,000 feet in elevation, making it a world-class climbing destination. Each step up or down in altitude seems to introduce a new ecosystem, with plants and animals that have adapted to each differentiated zone.

Protecting this biodiversity found on mountains is the theme for 2020's International Mountain Day, held each year on December 11. The UN, which founded International Mountain Day, invites us to join the conversation about the importance of mountains. On social media, use the hashtag #MountainsMatter to share about the biodiversity in the mountains near you.

群山适合皇后居住

就像哨兵站岗一样，这些高耸的茎是安地斯皇后（世界上最大的凤梨科植物）的花朵——一些标本可以长到50英尺高。这种非凡的植物仅在玻利维亚和秘鲁安第斯山脉的高坡上发现的不利条件下才适合生长。一次看到它们中的数个绽放确实是很特别的，因为经过一个多世纪的艰苦成长，安第斯山脉的女王才一次发出她的开花茎。一棵植物将开花约三个月，产生8,000至20,000朵花，然后死亡。

由于山区呈现出各种海拔，暴露和坡度，因此它们拥有广泛的气候区和生态系统。我们所描绘的植物在秘鲁的科迪勒拉·布兰卡（White Range）繁茂，这是世界上最高和最冰川化的热带山脉。科迪勒拉布兰卡塔的几个山峰海拔超过20,000英尺，使其成为世界一流的攀岩胜地。海拔的每上升或下降似乎都会引入一个新的生态系统，动植物已经适应了每个不同的区域。

保护山区发现的这种生物多样性是每年12月11日举行的2020年国际山区日的主题。创建国际山区日的联合国邀请我们参加有关山区重要性的讨论。在社交媒体上，使用#MountainsMatter主题标签分享您附近山区的生物多样性。