Editing Andes (section)

==Flora==
[[File:20100116 Sonso 002.JPG|thumb|[[Laguna de Sonso Nature Reserve|Laguna de Sonso]] tropical dry forest in Northern Andes]]
The Andean region cuts across several [[natural region|natural]] and floristic regions, due to its extension, from [[Caribbean]] Venezuela to cold, windy, and wet [[Cape Horn]] passing through the hyperarid [[Atacama Desert]]. [[Rainforest]]s and [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical dry forests]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forest Ecoregions |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat02.cfm |website=wwf.panda.org |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425205410/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat02.cfm |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> used to{{When|date=June 2024}} encircle much of the northern Andes but are now greatly [[Deforestation|diminished]], especially in the [[El Chocó|Chocó]] and inter-Andean valleys of Colombia. Opposite the humid Andean slopes are the relatively dry Andean slopes in most of western Peru, Chile, and Argentina. Along with several [[Interandean Valles]], they are typically dominated by [[deciduous]] woodland, shrub and [[xeric]] vegetation, reaching the extreme in the slopes near the virtually lifeless Atacama Desert.

About 30,000 species of [[vascular plants]] live in the Andes, with roughly half being [[endemism|endemic]] to the region, surpassing the diversity of any other [[Biodiversity hotspot|hotspot]].<ref name = "biodiv"/> The small tree ''[[Cinchona pubescens]]'', a source of [[quinine]] that is used to treat [[malaria]], is found widely in the Andes as far south as Bolivia. Other important crops that originated from the Andes are [[tobacco]] and [[potato]]es. The high-altitude ''[[Polylepis]]'' forests and woodlands are found in the Andean areas of [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Chile]]. These trees, by locals referred to as Queñua, Yagual, and other names, can be found at altitudes of {{convert|4500|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level. It remains unclear if the patchy distribution of these forests and woodlands is natural, or the result of clearing that began during the [[Inca]]n period. Regardless, in [[modern history|modern times]], the clearance has accelerated, and the trees are now considered highly [[endangered]], with some believing that as little as 10% of the original woodland remains.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pants of the Andies |url=http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_plant_page.htm |access-date=9 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215105448/http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_plant_page.htm |archive-date=15 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>