Orchid is the national flower of Venezuela. The Orchidaceae are a very diverse family of flowering plants, most of the flower in this family sports fragrance and eye candy coloring scheme.
Amazing Facts About Orchids:
- Orchids have over 25,000 species discovered yet.
- Like the other monocots, orchids bear simple leaves with parallel veins.
- Many of the perfumes are being extracted from numerous varieties of orchids.
- In horticulture the orchid is not a new name. Orchids are cultivated all around the globe from temperate to cold regions.
- Some orchid genus like the Vanilla is used in baking and aromatherapy.
- Dried leaves of few orchids like Jumellea fragrans is used to flavor the rum.
- Gastrodia a specie of orchid is consumed in Australia.
- Gastrodia is also used in many medicines. The first use of the orchid flowers in medicine field dates back to 100 AD.
Why is Orchid the national flower of Venezuela?
The diversity of Venezuela in flora and fauna is exceptional. As the orchids have numerous species and somehow it reflects the diverse flora of the state so that is the primary reason it is cherry picked as the national flower. On 23rd May 1951 the orchid specifically “Cattleya mossiae” was chosen as the national flower of the country. In native language, it is known as flor de mayo (May Flower).