FLORA OF GUATEMALA: SPECIES AND MAIN RISKS - BIOLOGY - 2025

The flora of Guatemala has been considered by various experts as the richest and most diversified in all of Central America. Its flora is made up of a great variety of genera and native herbal species and some imported species that have been able to adapt to the lands throughout the country.

This great diversity has also led to the inclusion of many endemic orchids and fruit trees that are valuable to the Guatemalan economy.

The orchid, one of the most typical flowers of Guatemala

Despite being located in Central America, its flora differs considerably compared to its neighboring countries, which is due to the large number of habitats it has. These range from active volcanoes to subalpine grasslands with very low temperatures.

According to the most recent studies of Guatemalan national botanists and foreigners, the variety extends to almost 8000 types of species that are scattered throughout the nation, most of which are native or endemic species. Numbers that according to botanists are indicators of a high variety and diversity.

The Guatemalan flora has also helped the nation's economy grow, so its overall impact has made it an important aspect to study within society.

At the same time, it has been very useful in various social aspects that have been this way for a long time. You may also be interested in this article on the natural resources of Guatemala.

Main species of the flora of Guatemala

One of the most exotic species that can be seen in the flora of Guatemala are orchids.

We can mainly observe the spotted coral orchid, a plant with a stem of up to 80 cm and a production of up to 50 flowers. Its colors are similar to those of a coral since the orchid adopts colors such as red and brown.

Another plant that can also be found in large quantities are avocado trees (Known in botanical language by the name of Persea americana).

This fruit tree has been highly exploited within the Guatemalan economy since its fruit, the avocado, has been used for many years in local food. The tree grows easily in tropical environments and thanks to the fertility of the Guatemalan soil its growth is quite fast.

In the same way, the Caribbean pines are very abundant within the flora of Central America, especially in Guatemala they are found in large numbers due to the location of acid and drained soils that are close to large amounts of water.

These pine forests can be found near the entire coast. These Caribbean pines are not properly indigenous to Guatemala, their variety comes directly from Honduras, but this has not prevented large quantities from being obtained throughout the Guatemalan territory.

We can also find the huito, which is a very common juniper both in Mexico and Guatemala and can grow up to 15 meters.

However, the huito, also known as Juniperus standleyi, is in danger of extinction due to the constant deforestation that has been carried out over the years and the lack of a reforestation project to recover the species.

We can also find the guamatela that is part of the Guamatelacea family. This shrub owes its name to Guatemala, despite the fact that it is found in almost all of Central America.

It is a floral plant but in reality it does not have an ornamental or fruit use. They are scattered throughout the forests and jungles of the country and their extension has been with minimal intervention by man since the little commercial utility that has been achieved for the plant.

Utility of the flora of Guatemala

Many uses have been given to what the Guatemalan flora is, from the use of avocado in almost all its traditional dishes to the presence of various fruits and mountains for medicinal purposes.

One of the fruits that we can find the most in local and indigenous Guatemalan medicine is the white sapote (known in the botanical world as Casimiroa edulis). This fruit is widely used to treat nervousness, high blood pressure, insomnia as well as it is used as a sedative.

Another of the fruits most used for medicinal purposes is the olive (Also known as Simarouba amara).

This tree is found in almost all of Central America and its use comes from the pre-Columbian stage, since then it has been used to treat various stomach-related ailments. In addition to this, the olive is given the culinary use that is also given in the rest.

In the commercial aspect, black oak (Quercus rugosa) has been very useful due to its relevance in the timber world and the utility that it has been given. However, this enormous use has also begun to generate risks for the continuity of the species within the Guatemalan flora.

Risks of the flora of Guatemala

As in the rest of the world, the flora of Guatemala has been greatly affected by human intervention and the absence of projects for the rehabilitation and recovery of species. Flora has also been indirectly affected by the destruction of unique habitats that were exclusive to certain species.

Recovery and protection systems in Guatemala have very few species under any type of threat classification, however certain needs have already begun to be noted that must be ensured to achieve the sustainability of the rich variety of species.

For example, vanilla planifolia, a kind of orchid from which they get the popular and commercial vanilla flavor that occurs throughout Central America.

This has been affected by the great commercial impact that the plant has had within international markets, which has led to an exploitation that does not adapt to its reproduction rate.

References

1. Steyermark, J. (1950). Flora of Guatemala. Chicago, United States: Chicago Natural History Museum.
2. World Atlas. (2017). Native Plants of Guatemala: WorldAtlas.com. Recovered from worldatlas.com.
3. Swallen, J. (1955). Part II: Grasses of Guatemala. Chicago, United States: Chicago Natural History Museum.
4. World Atlas. (2017). Native Plants of Guatemala: WorldAtlas.com. Recovered from www.worldatlas.com.
5. University of Wisconsin. (sf). Corallorhiza maculate. Wisconsin, United States: UW- Madison Department of Botany. Recovered from botany.wisc.edu.
6. Schieber, E., & Zentmyer, G. (1992). Ancestors of the Guatemalan "Criollo" (Persea americana var. Guatemalensis) as Studied in the Guatemalan Highlands, Second World Avocado Congress. Congress held in California, United States. Lecture recovered from avocadosource.com.
7. Caribbean Pine. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 27, 2017 from wikipedia.org.
8. Juniperus Standleyi. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 27, 2017 from wikipedia.org.
9. Bold Systems. (sf). Guamatela nutckheimii {species}. Recovered from boldsystems.org.
10. Zavaleta, A. (2012). Medicinal plants of the borderlands: a bilingual resource guide. Indiana, United States: AuthorHouse.
11. Simarouba amara. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 27, 2017 from en.wikipedia.org.
12. Oaks of the world. (sf). Quercus Rugosa. Recovered from oaks.of.the.world.free.fr.
13. North American Orchid Conservation Center. (sf) Vanilla Planifolia. Recovered from

    goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org.