Mount Giluwe is situated in the Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. It is a shield type of volcano covered with alpine grasslands and is the second highest mountain with the height of 4,367 meters. Mick Leahy and his brother Dan who were Australian explorers discovered it in 1934. Originally, the volcano on the Mount Giluwe was formed as a stratovolcano with the same height of the current peak. Current summits were made of extensive Pliestoncene glacition that eroded away much of the part of the peak. Numerous U-shaped and cirques valleys can be seen that are formed due to the remains of glaciers that no longer exist.
The flora of the mountain comprises of rich vegetation called as biomes. At the height between 2500m and 2800m lies the lower montane rainforest that are influenced by Elaeocarpus and Nothofagus that includes vast Pandanus. Above Avian fauna, which consists of endemic dwarf cassowary lies the upper montane rainforest also known as moss forest with trees such as conifers and Quintina that consists of Podocarpus and Papuacedrus. The forest floor is covered with various types of ferns including filmy ferns, Belchnum and has the world’s largest moss that grows up to a height of 55cm.
Image Source : Panoramio