''Guarianthe skinneri'' is a species of

orchid 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 is native to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

; from

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

to every country in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

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

, where it is known as guaria morada. It was referenced as ''Cattleya skinneri'' as the earlier name by

James Bateman James Bateman may refer to: *James Bateman (horticulturist) (1811–1897), British landowner and horticulturist *James Bateman (artist) (1893–1959), English painter of rural scenes *James Bateman (MP), MP for Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency), ...

in 1839. The range of ''G. skinneri'' extends from the southern Mexican border into Costa Rica where it is the national flower.

References

External links

skinneri Orchids of Central America Orchids of Belize Orchids of Chiapas Plants described in 1839 {{Laeliinae-stub National symbols of Costa Rica