MOUNTAINS ARE SCATTERED across eastern Africa like islands rising from the lowlands. Some are volcanic in origin, others uplifted by the continental writhing that has also produced the Great Rift Valley, which trenches through the continent from the Red Sea to Mozambique. The plants of this Afromontane Archipelago, as it's known, have fascinated me for thirty years. Most famous are the giant lobelias and groundsels from the higher peaks, but the flora is diverse, changing from mountain to mountain.
NSTL
