Suni (altitude level)
The Suni (from the same word Quechua "broad, extensive"), Jalca or Sallqa (Quechua "wild, wilderness") is an altitude level of the Andes from approx. 3500 to 4000 m above sea level (according to Javier Pulgar Vidal ).
The climate is cold and humid with a lot of fog and rain, and the temperature fluctuations between day and night are large. Heavy frost is common.
In the Suni, only herbs, perennials and a few shrubs grow predominantly. The most important woody plants are Polylepis species (qiwuña), Buddleja incana (kiswar), Escallonia resinosa (chachakuma), black elder (Sambucus nigra), Cantua buxifolia and cassia species as well as species of the cactus genus Cereus . The epiphytic orchid genus Epidendron ( wiñay wayna ) and grasses of the genus Chusquea should also be mentioned.
Are grown as tubers potatoes , Oka (Oxalis tuberosa) and Olluco (Ullucus tuberosus), as apparent grain the Amaranth plants Kiwicha ( Amaranthus edulis ) , Kinua or Quinoa ( Chenopodium Quinoa ) and Qañiwa ( Chenopodium pallidicaule ) , further Tarwi ( Lupinus mutabilis , a Kind of lupine ). Very common wild animals, but also bred, are guinea pigs , the main source of meat.
literature
- Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú - Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo SA, Lima 1979.