ORQUIDEA

The Orchid is the national flower of Venezuela
The orchid named Cattleya mossiae was decreed as the national flower of Venezuela on May 23, 1951.

Its name pays tribute to the botanist William Cattley, who was the first to achieve its reproduction in a greenhouse in 1818. It is also known as the "Flor de Mayo", since from the 19th century it is used as an ornament of the May Cross, as well as to adorn the figure of the Virgin in its various invocations.

They accompany it like national Symbols of Venezuela the Turpial and the Araguaney.

Apart from its extraordinary beauty, the orchid is the only flower whose name has the five vowels. It belongs to the most extensive family of the vegetal kingdom, that includes some 30 thousand species distributed in near 800 sorts, the greater variety of them are native of America of the South.

Most genera have a similar structure composed of three elongated sepals, behind, and three wider petals, in front. The lower petal is larger than the two lateral and is modified in the shape of a lip, so it also receives the name of lip. Usually, the lip presents spots and spots of varied colors, which makes it stand out even more to the eye.