Flora of Colombia

National flower of Colombia

The national flower of Colombia is the orchid Cattleya trianae which was named after the Colombian naturalist José Jerónimo Triana. The orchid was selected by botanist Emilio Robledo, in representation of the Colombian Academy of History to determine the most representative flowering plant of Colombia. He described it as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and selected Cattleya trianae as National symbol.

National Tree of Colombia

The national tree of Colombia is the palm Ceroxylon quindiuense (Quindío Wax Palm) which was named after the Colombian Department of Quindío where is located the Cocora valley, only habitat of this restricted range specie. The Wax palm was selected as the national tree by the government of Belisario Betancur and was the first tree officially declared as a protected species in Colombia. C. quindiuense is the only palm that grows at high altitudes and is the tallest monocot in the world.

Endemism

Colombia has the largest amount of endemic species (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) worldwide. About 10% of the species in the world live in Colombia. Some determinant factors in the distribution range of the species are the weather conditions, temperature, humidity and sunlight availability.

Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct due to their restricted habitat and vulnerability to the actions of man, including the introduction of new organisms.

Ecoregions with high endemism

According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment, the following ecoregions have the highest percentage of botanic endemic species:

Tree species

Many of the Colombian trees are endangered species due to the high quality of the woods and timber industry exploitation (such as Colombian oak Quercus humboldtidiana and Colombian mahogany) and as source of tanning substances for the leather industry (such as mangrove and Encenillo tree Weinmannia tomentosa). Some tree species described in Colombia are:

Abarema

Acidocroton

Aiphanes

Aniba

Brownea

Brunellia

Calatola

Centronia

Ceroxylon

Clusia

Eschweilera

Freziera

Grias

Guarea

Gustavia

Herrania

Huilaea

Inga

Leptolejeunea

Licania

Macrolobium

Magnolia

Mayna

Meriania

Metteniusa

Miconia

Oenocarpus

Orphanodendron

Parmentiera

Passiflora

Phytelephas

Pouteria

Pradosia

Prunus

Rinorea

Rollinia

Romeroa

Schoenocephalium

Solanum

Sphaerolejeunea

Streptosolen

Swartzia

Utricularia

Vantanea

Wettinia

Xylosma

Zamia

Zygia

Orchid species

Colombia has the largest number of orchids in the world. Among others:

Frondaria

Restrepia