Local and Holy: Venezuela’s National Flower

Our Lady of Coromoto
with Flores de Mayo
poster at the National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Coromoto
Guanare, Venezuela
Photo: Greg Allikas

Our Lady of Coromoto with Flores de Mayo, poster at the National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Coromoto Guanare, Venezuela

Prolific, native, flamboyant as they come — and exclusive: Michael Sinn demonstrates how this flower crowns itself. 

In popular culture, Cattleya mossiae is known by many different names in its native country of Venezuela: Flor de Mayo (May flower), Mayito (Little May) and Flor del Nazareno (Flower of the Nazarene). The popular names all refer to the blooming season, which typically, is in April and May, and in parts of its range, often coincides with Easter. Being such a favorite of Venezuelans, in 1951 it was designated as the national flower, replacing Catasetum pileatum which had formerly held this lofty title but was not a totally “exclusive” Venezuelan species since it can also be found in Colombia and Ecuador.

On a social level, it is interesting to note the spiritual significance of this plant to the Catholics of Venezuela, One of its common popular names, la Flor del Nazareno, refers to the celebration and remembrance of the “Way of the Cross” of Jesus, one of the Catholic rites of Semana Santa, the week preceding Easter. In many towns and villages, even in Caracas, processions take place and many of the floats and palanquins are decorated with thousands of orchids, especially C. mossiae which is usually at its peak bloom at this time.

Included in these processions and in many of the churches, is the patron saint of Venezuela, Nuestra Señora de Coromoto – the Virgin of Coromoto. She may be seen in street processions, or resting peacefully in a niche, bedecked with C. mossiae. In the area of La Quebrada, (which is considered part of the natural habitat of C. mossiae) where the Virgin first appeared, every church and even the most humble of chapels, is adorned with this mystical lavender flower.

In the towns and villages of its native country, C. mossiae played an important part in the major religious festivals of spring for centuries. But, it was not until 1838 that the English botanist, Sir. William J. Hooker, described this plant horticulturally. During the height of “orchid fever” in England, Mr. Thomas Moss, a celebrated collector of orchids and exotic plants, received a plant, later named C. mossiae in honor of his wife. Mrs. Moss was a skilled artist, and it was she who painted the first specimen to flower in his greenhouse.

Pope John Paul II consecrated the Church of the Apparition, Guanare, Venezuela, dedicated to the Virgin of Coromoto, February 10, 1996
Photo: Ultimas Noticias

On describing this new species, Hooker emphasized: “I wished the illustration would do justice to this species, the most marvelous of all orchids. The flowers are the biggest ones of this family known up to now. The flowers are also showy and no paintbrush, nor art, can match them.” The example described, surely had as its provenance, the Cordillera de la Costa (the coastal mountain range) where many plants of not only C. mossiae, but also C. lueddemanniana, were easily collected. Of note, is the proximity of this habitat to the Puerto La Guaira, the principal port of ships bound for Europe during the 19th century.

Although the lavender variety is most common, other color forms are known to Venezuelan orchidists. The alba form is still known as variety wageneri and the semi-albas as variety reineckeana. They were both considered at one time to be separate species from the typical lilac/purple/lavender form. It was not until 1880 that they were reclassified as color varieties of C. mossiae.

This beautiful species is found only in Venezuela, along the Coastal Mountain Range* and on the eastern slope of the Venezuelan Andes. C. mossiae’s preferred situation is in large trees such as the bucare (Erythrina) and the buamo (Inga). The plants require strong light and good air movement and these big trees provide the perfect habitat along with a very rough bark to which roots can firmly adhere. In most cases, the largest colonies of C. mossiae can be found between 1200-1600 meters (3600-4800 feet) elevation where there is enough moisture from evening condensation, even during the dry season, which stretches from the end of October through the end of April. Temperatures at this elevation can vary during the summer from 30 degrees C. (86 degrees F) daytime to a night time temperature of 12 degrees C (53 degrees F). This is a strong plant, resistant to temperature changes.

Cattleya mossiae in the wild
Photo: iNaturalist

Luckily, today it is still possible to see very large specimens of C. mossiae, some with as many as 200 pseudobulbs. These plants are very old and have many years of growth. It’s truly spectacular to see these mammoth plants in full flower with as many as many or more than 300 flowers open at one time. Unlike some other species, C. mossiae has two periods of new growth per year, the first during the months of June at the beginning of the rainy season. This growth will produce a lead with a sheath that becomes dry before flowering. The second growth begins at the beginning of December during the height of the dry season. Flowers buds emerge into this later, green sheath at the same time as into the dried, early sheaths. This behavior occurs only with fully developed and established plants but results in a very floriferous specimen.

Grand florewcene of Cattleta mossiae in its native Venezuelan habitat.

Flowering times can vary a little. Depending on habitat, flowers can be produced from the end of March to the beginning of April for those from the Andes habitat, and throughout the month of April and into May for those from the Coastal Mountain Range. This latter habitat has experienced many climatic changes, influencing the prime flowering time, which has gradually moved from the month of March to the month of April.

Flowering season for cultivated plants in the U.S. is generally the same, but can be anytime between late March and early May. Strong plants that are well established can produce three or four flowers per inflorescence and even up to six. In nature, insect-pollinated flowers produce capsules at the beginning of the rainy season. The seedpods mature within a year, providing a better chance at germination. Carried by the wind, seed occasionally falls on the coffee trees cultivated in the natural habitat of this Cattleya.

Fortunately, the large bucare and the buamo trees still exist. Many haven’t been cut down because they provide the shade necessary for a good crop of Venezuelan type coffee. Sadly, this is changing as more coffee plantations are replacing the shade loving Venezuelan coffee with a smaller Brazilian type that produces more coffee but requires direct sun. As a result, these grand and majestic trees are gradually being removed, providing less and less suitable natural habitat for C. mossiae.

For the country folk and inhabitants of the orchid’s range, C. mossiae is merely a plant with which to adorn gardens and entrances to homes. The plants that grow in the coffee plantations are pulled out because they are considered parasites that can affect the growth of the coffee.

Plants found on fallen branches are collected by the local people and reestablished on trees close to or surrounding their homes as something to be enjoyed for the beauty and religious significance of the flowers.

Because of the changing practices of coffee plantations, this is an important form of conservation, since many plants survive and thrive in their native habitat, where they experience the same climatic conditions and the same pollinators.

C. mossiae is one of the easiest of all cattleyas to cultivate. A grower only needs to provide a media that does not retain too much water, sufficient light, and adequate amounts of fertilizer. C. mossiae requires no special treatment and can be grown using the same regime as used for Cattleya hybrids and species. They can even be grown with vandas as long as ample water and air movement are provided. Because C. mossiae produces two growths per year, be sure to use a large enough pot, 5-6 inches for mature 5-6 bulb divisions. Basket culture is also a good alternative.

Cattleya Casitas Spring, a hybrid from Cattleya mossiae
Photo: Orchid Roots

Today, most orchidists would recognize the names of only few of the 450 or so first-generation hybrids made with a C. mossiae parent. But as testament to its importance in modern Cattleya breeding lines, C. mossiae is represented somewhere in the background of a staggering 20,000 hybrids spread across eleven generations.

A short list of hybrids that have C. mossiae genes in their makeup reads like a list of royalty: Lc. Bonanza, C. Bob Betts, Lc. Casitas Spring, Blc. Alma Kee, Lc. Ann Follis, Lc. Steven Oliver Fouraker, Blc. Goldenzelle, Slc. Anzac, Blc. Momilani Rainbow, Blc. California Girl, Pot. Susan Fender, Blc. Bryce Canyon, and the list could go on for pages.

Like many Cattleya species however, Cattleya mossiae is being rediscovered for its simple and elegant beauty. Line breeding of select clones has led to new populations of superior cultivars with improved growth and vigor. There is no reason for any Cattleya grower to not have at least one C. mossiae in their collection. The only sight that equals a head of C. mossiae buds unfurling in your orchid collection is seeing them in nature.

(Originally published: HFP April 10, 2006)

In better days, with white Cattleya mossiae, a woman who lost her home, June 24, 2026.

Note: Orchid expert Michael Sinn generously permitted us to republish his article on Flor de Mayo, which first appeared, translated by Kathy Figiel, in Orchid Digest (January 2006). Deepest thanks to Greg Allikas for alerting us to this and much  of the orchidaceous.

*Sinn stresses that the Cattleya mossiae is endemic to few places, one being the Cordillera de la Costa, near the port of La Guaira — just where two giant earthquakes struck June 24, 2026, killing more than 35oo people. Here is a plaintive plea for aid from one family and another effort to raise funds from an orchid nursery with roots in Venezuela.