Direct sunlight, extreme temperature differences, and long periods of drought define the severe microclimates of the Inselberg Savane-Roches, or “jungle rocks”. Over two hundred of these granite domes dot the interior of French Guiana, forming the last remnants of the 1.7 billion year old Guiana Shield that ranges from Venezuela to Amapá in Brazil.

Before the 2003 completion of a road between the towns of Regina and St Georges the Inselbergs could only be reached by long, arduous boat journeys or by helicopter, limiting research opportunities, and to this day no comprehensive inventory has been made of all the unique species that call these verandas of the rainforest home.