Orchids are, by far, the largest and most diverse family of plants that produce flowers and although they have not yet been discovered atop glaciers or in the hottest deserts, they appear just about everywhere on earth. Central American countries have been blessed with an enormous number of orchids and Costa Rica has the richest abundance of these breathtakingly beautiful floras.

As well over 1,400 distinct species of orchid plants have been identified in Costa Rica alone and many others are most likely awaiting to be likewise discovered and identified formally. Thus, it should come as no surprise to anyone that its national flower is in fact the orchid.

Visitors to Costa Rica who take the time to travel along its fabulous coastline, through its lush rainforests and humid cloud forests and up onto its highest mountain ranges and subfreezing terrains of Chirripo, will inevitably stumble upon blooming orchids wherever they look and regardless of the season. And the variety is mindboggling as some orchid blooms measure less than one millimeter while others such as the Phragmipedium caudatum surpass half a meter (1.5 feet). Some orchids bloom for just a single day while other orchid plants produce flowers that can last for weeks and even months. There are even diversities where pollination is concerned as each species of orchid plants seems to have developed its own unique technique with some requiring no assistance as they self-pollinate.

The video below displays some of Costa Rica’s most exotic
orchid blooms and they are indeed stunning!

To list and describe all the orchids of Central America or even just Costa Rica would require a much larger posting than this. However, the most notoriously famous among Central American orchids is the one that is called La Putita de Noche which means in Spanish, “the Little Prostitute of the Night.” This orchid acquired its name because during the day it emits no odor at all but as soon as the sun sets it discharges an intoxicating perfume that is hard to resist.

If you have a chance to travel to Costa Rica, please take the time to visit the following locations where you can enjoy orchids at their best:

  • Orchid Alley in La Garita which is located in the central highlands of Costa Rica. There you can even purchase orchid plants and have them exported to any location on the globe.
  • Lankester Gardens which is near Cartago and it displays over 800 species of orchids, including the impressive collection of Charles Lankester who was the original owner of this fabulous garden.
  • Jardin de Las Guarias is the most extensive private collection of orchid plants in Costa Rica.

And if you find yourself in Costa Rica in March, be sure to visit the annual orchid show at the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio), near San José.

Ours is one of the most comprehensive sites about orchids. For your convenience and edification, we continually add more links to valuable resources as well as regularly incorporating informative articles. Please visit us at Orchid Care.org as often as you can.

Filed under: Orchid Species

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