Flora of Colombia Flora of Colombia The Flora of Colombia is characterized by 130,000 species of plants that have been described within Colombian territory. 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. The national tree of Colombia is the palm "Ceroxylon quindiuense" (Quindío wax palm) which
Flowering Locus C Flowering Locus C Flowering Locus C ("FLC") is a MADS-box gene that in late-flowering ecotypes of the plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" is responsible for vernalization. In a new seedling "FLC" is expressed, which prevents flowering. Upon exposure to cold, less "FLC" is expressed (to a degree depending on the amount of cold), and flowering becomes possible. "FLC" is extensively regulated through epigenetic modifications and transcriptional control. The expression of "FLC" is affected by other genes including "FLK", "FCA" and "VERNALIZATION2" ("VRN2"). Wild "Arabidopsis" plants have different alleles for the "FLC" gene, which correspond to ecotypes which either (a) flower rapidly and