''Cattleya trianae'' (Lind. & Rchb. fil), also known as ''Flor de Mayo'' ("May flower") or "Christmas orchid", is a plant of the family

Orchidaceae 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. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. It grows as an

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

orchid, with

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

leaves,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

where it was nominated as the

national flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

in November 1936. That year, the

National Academy of History of Argentina The National Academy of History of the Argentine Republic ( es, Academia Nacional de la Historia de la República Argentina) is a non-profit learned society established to foster the study and dissemination of Argentine history. Overview Founded ...

asked the Latin American countries to participate in an exhibition with the representative flowers of each country. The Colombian government gave the botanist Emilio Robledo the task to designate the most representative flowering plant of the country. The choice of ''Cattleya trianae'' was made for two main reasons: *The

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is yellow, blue and red, in the same way as the Colombian flag. *The species was named after the 19th century Colombian botanist

José Jerónimo Triana José Jerónimo Triana Silva (May 22, 1828 in Bogotá – October 31, 1890 in Paris) was a Colombian botanist, explorer, and physician who cataloged over 60,000 specimens representing 8,000 species. In 1851, he joined the Chorographic Commissio ...

. The species grows at 1500–2000 meters above sea level, in

Cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s. It is an endangered species due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

number of ''C. trinae'' has been determined as 2''n'' = 40. the

haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectivel ...

has been determined as ''n'' = 20.page 251 of L. P. Felix and M. Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 163(2010)234—278. The Linnean Society of London. Downloaded October 2010 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2010.01059.x/abstract

References

External links

* *
tierramerica.net
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Orquídeas Cattleya
{{Taxonbar, from=Q369006 trianae trianae Endemic orchids of Colombia Plants described in 1810 National symbols of Colombia Epiphytic orchids Endangered plants