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10 plants worth knowing

Ecuador

Crossed by the equator and the Andes, Ecuador packs four different worlds into a small area: the tropical Pacific coast, the high-mountain páramo around the volcanoes, the Amazon rainforest of the Oriente and the volcanic Galápagos Islands. It is one of the most plant-diverse countries in the world relative to its size – more than 17,000 species of vascular plants grow here, including several thousand orchids.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Chuquiraga 1

    shrub · Often cited as the national flower of Ecuador; known as the “mountaineers’ flower”

    Chuquiraga

    Chuquiraga jussieui

    The “mountaineers’ flower” – a spiny shrub with orange flowers that brightens the high páramo below Chimborazo and Cotopaxi.
  2. Banana 2

    crop

    Banana

    Musa acuminata

    Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas – plantations stretch across the entire coastal lowland.
  3. Cacao 3

    crop

    Cacao

    Theobroma cacao

    The oldest evidence of cacao use – more than 5,000 years old – was found in Ecuador, which is now famous for its aromatic “Arriba” cacao.
  4. Scalesia pedunculata 4

    tree

    Scalesia pedunculata

    Scalesia pedunculata

    The “tree daisy” of the Galápagos – a relative of sunflowers that grew into a tree a dozen or more metres tall on the islands.
  5. Tagua 5

    palm

    Tagua

    Phytelephas aequatorialis

    The palm that yields “vegetable ivory” – its hard seeds have been turned into buttons, figurines and jewellery for more than a century.
  6. Toquilla palm 6

    herbaceous plant

    Toquilla palm

    Carludovica palmata

    The fibres of this palm-like plant are woven into the famous “Panama hats” – which have in fact always been made in Ecuador.
  7. Balsa 7

    tree

    Balsa

    Ochroma pyramidale

    One of the fastest-growing trees in the world yields the lightest commercial timber – Ecuador supplies over 90 per cent of the world’s balsa.
  8. Cinchona tree 8

    tree

    Cinchona tree

    Cinchona officinalis

    Science first knew the cinchona from the forests around Loja – for centuries its bark, “cascarilla”, was the most effective cure for malaria.
  9. Naranjilla 9

    shrub

    Naranjilla

    Solanum quitoense

    Sweet-and-sour naranjilla juice is Ecuadorians’ favourite drink – the fruit takes its Latin name from Quito.
  10. Guayusa 10

    tree

    Guayusa

    Ilex guayusa

    The peoples of Amazonian Ecuador brew caffeine-rich guayusa leaves before dawn and drink the tea around a shared fire.