Rhododendron is one of some 3000 alpine plant species found in the Hengduan Mountains. By Erik StokstadThe Hengduan Mountains adjoining Asia’s massive Tibetan Plateau are a place of superlatives.
Four major rivers, including the Mekong and the Yangtze, flow through deep valleys. In winter, snow blankets the peaks, and in summer fierce monsoon rains pelt them.
And one of the world’s richest alpine plant communities, boasting more than 3000 species, cloaks the slopes.“It’s a fascinating place, especially botanically,” says Richard Ree, an evolutionary biologist at the Field Museum.
At first glance, he notes, the alpine meadows on the high slopes of the Hengduan peaks look like those found in other ranges, such as North America’s Rocky.