''Peristeria'' is a genus of plants 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 ...

Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2009). Epidendroideae (Part two). Genera Orchidacearum 5: 1-585. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford. commonly called dove orchid or Holy Ghost orchid. In line with the common name, the genus' name is from the Greek word ''peristerion'' meaning "from dove". According to the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

, Per is the official orchid abbreviation for this genus. In nature, it is found across much of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

as well as in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, Costa Rica and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''

Peristeria elata ''Peristeria elata'' is a species of orchid occurring from Central America to Panamá, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is the type species of its genus. It is commonly referred to as the Holy Ghost orchid, dove orchid, or flower of the Holy Spirit in ...

'' is the national flower of

and is extremely over-collected in its native habitat. This over collection has led to its status as a species threatened with extinction delineated in Appendix I of

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

. In its native habitat, Peristeria can usually be found growing near the edge of hardwood forests. In the fall, after the trees in the hardwood forest lose their leaves, the plants are exposed to full sun throughout the cool, dry winter. Species in this genus are either

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 ...

or terrestrial in growth habit.

References

Missouri Botanical Garden w³ TROPICOS

''Peristeria''
in World Checklist of Orchidaceae. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

External links

* *
Royal Horticultural Society: Registration of Orchids
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2333104 Coeliopsidinae genera Epiphytic orchids