The tropical canopy—the very tops of trees, an interface between the forests and the atmosphere—is truly the summit of our world’s biodiversity*. It holds vast resources of active molecules that have great potential for medical use.

Fifty meters above the ground, at the heart of the richest, most inaccessible and least known biodiversity on earth, live countless species yet to be studied for most of them. The equatorial canopy is of extraordinary importance and a summit of the world’s beauty.

* Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, A.B. and Kent, J. Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities. Nature 403, 853-858, 2000.