When
Where
Galapagos by land, sea and air.
George will explore the diverse flora (and unique fauna, and geography) seen on three of the largest islands, from a trip in January, the year before last with Galapagos Alternative. He will share what he learned about these oceanic islands sitting squarely on the equator 600 miles off mainland South America. The archipelago has a great diversity of plants (and animals) for their size. However, of the 686 plant genera, just 7 angiosperm genera are endemic, and 5 of the 133 ferns species are endemic. In fact, most of the ca. 1285 species of plants are indeed native, though they are the same familiar species found on the mainland from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. How did they get there naturally? It is estimated that about 60% came as seeds carried by birds, 30% traveled by wind and 10% by rafting. Today, about 10 % of the flora are cultivated/introduced plants which we the people brought.