Mountains fit for a queen Dec 11, 2020

Mountains fit for a queen

Like sentinels standing guard, these towering stalks are flowers of the queen of the Andes, the world"s largest bromeliad—some specimens can grow up to 50 feet tall. This extraordinary plant has adapted to grow only in the adverse conditions found on the high slopes of the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes. To see several of them in bloom at once is truly special, for the queen of the Andes sends up her flowering stalk just once, after a century or so of painstaking growth. A single plant will bloom for about three months, producing anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 flowers, then die.

© Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Dec 11, 2018‘The mountains are calling’
Dec 11, 2019In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
Dec 11, 2021Everest s shadow on the Himalayas
Dec 11, 2022Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Dec 11, 2023International Mountain Day
Dec 11, 2024International Mountain Day
Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 16, 2021Dancing in The Nutcracker
Feb 23, 2025Mount Fuji Day
Apr 21, 2019The Easter Bunny’s story
Dec 13, 2025Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California
Feb 16, 2021Mardi Gras flower power
Jan 20, 2018Yellow-eyed penguins, Moeraki, New Zealand
Mar 9, 2020This grizzly has Napping Day down
Oct 7, 2025Fall colors below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado
Oct 4, 2021Hey neighbor, it s World Space Week!
May 16, 2023American Wetlands Month
Mar 27, 2018Macro photograph of a migrant hawker dragonfly
Mar 11, 2023Marshland, Gloucester, MA
Apr 21, 2020Where do those colors come from?
Mar 26, 2021The wild heart of Tasmania
Dec 13, 2018Iceland awaits the Yule Lads
Sep 22, 2018Time for brass bands and beer
Feb 16, 2023Horsetail Fall, Yosemite National Park, California
Jul 9, 2024Talampaya National Park, Argentina
Jan 2, 2024Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
Sep 27, 2022Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Mar 7, 2018Chapel of St. Michel on Lake Serre-Ponçon, Hautes-Alpes, France
Oct 28, 2024Pumpkin field, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
May 19, 2024Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Aug 31, 2021Bridge over the River Tara
Jan 8, 2023Breckenridge, Colorado
Nov 8, 2019Chapel on the rock
Sep 22, 2023World Rhinoceros Day
Jun 30, 2024Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Feb 5, 2021A sea of swirling stone
Feb 27, 2025International Polar Bear Day