Comprising two of Asia’s major mountain ranges, the Mountains of Central Asia were known to early Persians as the “roof of the world.” The hotspot’s ecosystems range from glaciers to desert, and include a highly threatened type of walnut-fruit forest, unique to this region, which contains ancestors of domestic fruit varieties and is an important storehouse of genetic diversity. The hotspot is also home to a rich variety of ungulates, including the threatened argali wild sheep.