Flora of Colombia
The Flora of Colombia is characterized by 130,000 species of plants that have been described within Colombian territory. National Flower of Colombia. The national flower of Colombia is the orchid "Cattleya trianae" which was named after the Colombian naturalist José Jerónimo Triana. The orchid was selected by botanist Emilio Robledo, in representation of the Colombian Academy of History to determine the most representative flowering plant of Colombia. He described it as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and selected "Cattleya trianae" as National symbol. National Tree of Colombia. The national tree of Colombia is  the palm "Ceroxylon quindiuense" (Quindío wax palm) which was named after the Colombian Department of Quindío where is located the Cocora valley, the only habitat of this restricted range species. The Quindío wax palm was selected as the national tree by the government of Belisario Betancur and was the first tree officially declared as a protected species in Colombia. "C.quindiuense" is the only palm that grows at such high altitudes in Colombia and is the tallest monocot in the world. Endemism. Colombia has the largest number of endemic species (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) worldwide. About 10 % of the species in the world live in Colombia. Some determinant factors in the distribution range of the species are the wide diversity of habitats available due to the variety of altitudes, weather conditions, temperatures, soils and sunlight on the coasts, in the Andes and in the rainforest lowlands. Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct due to their restricted habitat and vulnerability to the actions of man, including the introduction of new organisms. Ecoregions with high endemism. According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment, the following ecoregions have the highest percentage of botanic endemic species: Tree species. Many of  the Colombian trees are endangered species due to the high quality of the woods and timber industry exploitation (such as Colombian oak "Quercus humboldtidiana" and Colombian mahogany) and as source of tanning substances for the leather industry (such as mangrove and Encenillo tree "Weinmannia tomentosa"). Some tree species described in Colombia are: Orchid species. Colombia has the largest number of orchids in the world. Among others: