Flora of Colombia

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The Flora of Colombia is characterized by over 32,000 species of green plants. [1]

Contents

Victoria amazonica grows in the Amazon basin. Victoria cruziana flower.jpg
Victoria amazonica grows in the Amazon basin.

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, the only habitat of this restricted range species. The Quindío 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 such high altitudes in Colombia and is the tallest monocot in the world.

Endemism

Colombia has the second largest number of heliconia species worldwide. Most of them are endemic species Heliconia rostrata 4.jpg
Colombia has the second largest number of heliconia species worldwide. Most of them are endemic species
The Baudo Mountains in the Colombian pacific coast have many endemic plants. Baudo-range-Colombia-USGS.png
The Baudó Mountains in the Colombian pacific coast have many endemic plants.

Colombia has the largest number 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 wide diversity of habitats available due to the variety of altitudes, weather conditions, temperatures, soils and sunlight on the coasts, in the Andes [2] and in the rainforest lowlands.

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:

Pekea-nut tree (Caryocar nuciferum) Caryocar nuciferum - Lemaire.JPG
Pekea-nut tree ( Caryocar nuciferum )
Yopo tree (Anadenanthera peregrina) Anadenanthera peregrina.jpg
Yopo tree ( Anadenanthera peregrina )
Cyrilla racemiflora CyrillaRacemosa.jpg
Cyrilla racemiflora

Fruits of Colombia

Genera

There are over 3900 Genera in the flora of Colombia [1] Some representational Genera are included below.

Marmalade bush (Streptosolen jamesonii) Streptosolen closeup.jpg
Marmalade bush ( Streptosolen jamesonii )
The Arrayan was sacred to precolumbian peoples Caesalpinia pulcherrima.jpg
The Arrayan was sacred to precolumbian peoples
Espeletia schultzii Frailejon Espeletia schultzii.jpg
Espeletia schultzii
Espeletia pycnophylla Frailejones chiles.JPG
Espeletia pycnophylla
Passiflora tarminiana Starr 010423-0060 Passiflora tarminiana.jpg
Passiflora tarminiana
Velvety Passion Flower Passion Flower Passiflora Flower 3008px.jpg
Velvety Passion Flower
Orange Passion Flower PassionFlower.PNG
Orange Passion Flower
Passiflora coccinea Passiflora vitifolia-Folio.jpg
Passiflora coccinea
Passiflora loefgrenii Passiflora loefgrenii1.jpg
Passiflora loefgrenii
Passiflora picturata Passiflora picturata4.jpg
Passiflora picturata
Passiflora subpeltata Starr 031114-0020 Passiflora subpeltata.jpg
Passiflora subpeltata
Passiflora citrina Passiflora citrina BotGardBln1105FlowerD.jpg
Passiflora citrina
Macrocarpaea calophylla Mac app2.jpg
Macrocarpaea calophylla
Macrocarpaea apparata Mac app.jpg
Macrocarpaea apparata

Abarema

Acidocroton

Aiphanes

Aniba

Brownea

Brunellia

Calatola

Centronia

Ceroxylon

Clusia

Eschweilera

Espeletia

Freziera

Grias

Guarea

Gustavia

Herrania

Huilaea

Inga

Lejeunea

Leptolejeunea

Macrolobium

Magnolia

Mayna

Meriania

Metteniusa

Miconia

Moquilea

Oenocarpus

Orphanodendron

Parmentiera

Passiflora

Phytelephas

Pouteria

Pradosia

Prunus

Rinorea

Rollinia

Romeroa

Schoenocephalium

Solanum

Streptosolen

Swartzia

Utricularia

Vantanea

Wettinia

Xylosma

Zamia

Zygia

Orchid species

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

Frondaria

Restrepia

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchid</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales

Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae</span> Classification of orchids

The taxonomy of the Orchidaceae (orchid family) has evolved slowly during the last 250 years, starting with Carl Linnaeus who in 1753 recognized eight genera. De Jussieu recognized the Orchidaceae as a separate family in his Genera Plantarum in 1789. Olof Swartz recognized 25 genera in 1800. Louis Claude Richard provided us in 1817 with the descriptive terminology of the orchids. (See External links below). The next step was taken in 1830-1840 by John Lindley, who recognized four subfamilies. He is generally recognized as the father of orchid taxonomy. The next important step was taken by George Bentham with a new classification, recognizing subtribes for the first time. This classification was first presented in a paper that Bentham read to the Royal Society in 1881. Then it was published in 1883 in the final volume of Genera Plantarum. The next great contributors were Pfitzer (1887), Schlechter (1926), Mansfeld (1937), Dressler and Dodson (1960), Garay (1960, 1972), Vermeulen (1966), again Dressler (1981). and Burns-Balogh and Funk (1986). Dressler's 1993 book had considerable influence on later work.

Wilhelm (Guillermo) Kalbreyer (1847–1912) was a German plant collector who was sent by James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London to collect new plants in West Africa and South America.

The flora of the Dominican Republic is diverse.

References

  1. 1 2 "Checklist of Colombian Plants". Neotropical Flora. Arizona State University.
  2. ↑ "Plantas y Flora de Colombia". Plantas de Colombia, VisitaConcepcion.
  3. ↑ "Lejeunea drehwaldii". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
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