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Flora of Colombia

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

Victoria amazonica grows in the Amazon basin.

National Flower of Colombia

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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

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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

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Colombia has the second largest number of heliconia species worldwide. Most of them are endemic species
 
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

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

Tree species

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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)
 
Yopo tree (Anadenanthera peregrina)
 
Cyrilla racemiflora

Fruits of Colombia

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Genera

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

 
Marmalade bush (Streptosolen jamesonii)
 
The Arrayan was sacred to precolumbian peoples
 
Espeletia schultzii
 
Espeletia pycnophylla
 
Passiflora tarminiana
 
Velvety Passion Flower
 
Orange Passion Flower
 
Passiflora coccinea
 
Passiflora loefgrenii
 
Passiflora picturata
 
Passiflora subpeltata
 
Passiflora citrina
 
Macrocarpaea calophylla
 
Macrocarpaea apparata

Abarema

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Acidocroton

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Aiphanes

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Aniba

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Brownea

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Brunellia

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Calatola

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Centronia

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Ceroxylon

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Clusia

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Eschweilera

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Espeletia

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Freziera

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Grias

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Guarea

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Gustavia

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Herrania

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Huilaea

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Inga

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Lejeunea

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Leptolejeunea

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Licania

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Macrolobium

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Magnolia

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Mayna

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Meriania

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Metteniusa

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Miconia

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Oenocarpus

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Orphanodendron

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Parmentiera

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Passiflora

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Phytelephas

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Pouteria

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Pradosia

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Prunus

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Rinorea

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Rollinia

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Romeroa

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Schoenocephalium

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Solanum

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Streptosolen

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Swartzia

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Utricularia

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Vantanea

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Wettinia

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Xylosma

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Zamia

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Zygia

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Orchid species

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

Frondaria

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Restrepia

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "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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