The paramo region of Ecuador in the Andes Mountains is home to grass and scrublands, says the Lonely Planet website. Here, there is less diversity than in other Ecuadorian regions. The majority of the paramo is covered by woody shrubs, especially those in the aster or composite families. Gentian flowers are also commonly found in the region, according to the Ecuador Travel website. The largest plant found in the paramo is the Espeletia shrub. Unlike the other, low-to-the-ground shrubs of the region, Espeletias grow about six feet high. They feature a trunk covered with small, gray hairs and yellow, daisy-like flowers.
The tropical cloud forests are located just below the paramo region in the Andes. According to the Ecuador Travel website, the cloud forests are thick with vegetation. Here, visitors are likely to find orchids, ferns, mosses and bromeliads and many more. Ecuador is home to one of the world's most varied populations of orchids. According to the Ecuador Travel website, there are more than 4,000 types of orchids in the country. Some grow in the ground like traditional flowers. Others grow more like lichen or moss, emerging from rocks and tree trunks.
Along the Amazon River, Ecuador is covered by the Oriente rainforest, according to the Lonely Planet website. In the Oriente, tropical trees and palms reach heights more than 30 meters high. Trees of the tropical rainforest are characterized by buttressed roots and thick, wide, waxy leaves. Buttressed roots rise from the soil in a web-like growth. Sometimes the roots are so large that people could easily climb inside the roots. The leaves of tropical plants feature pointed, drip tips which help water runoff reach the smaller plants within the canopy. The area is also home to lianas, thick vines which dangle from the tropical tree canopy. Lianas can choke small trees, causing them to die from a lack of light.
The mangrove swamp regions of Ecuador feature trees which have adapted to grow in salt water, according to the Lonely Planet website. Mangrove trees feature twisted roots, adapted to keeping the tree stable in the sandy soils of the swamp. Roots also offer protection for many of the swamp's inhabitants such as aquatic plants, fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Pelicans and other seabirds commonly nest in the branches of the mangrove tree.
Tropical dry forests differ from rain forests because of the hot and dry climate. According to the Lonely Planet website, dry forests are rapidly disappearing and only cover a small area of the Ecuadorian coast. The bottle-trunk ceiba tree is the most iconic species of the forest. It features a large trunk and light bulb-like, white flowers which blossom from bare tree branches.
