Flora

The flora of Venezuela consists of a huge variety of unique plants; around 38% of the estimated 21,000 species of plants found in the country are endemic to Venezuela. Overall, around 48% of Venezuela’s land is forested; this includes over 60% of the Venezuelan Amazon. Some of these rainforests are endangered by mining and logging activities.

Venezuela’s habitats range from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east. They include xeric scrublands in the extreme northwest and coastal mangrove forests in the northeast.

Its cloud forests and lowland rainforests are particularly rich, for example hosting over 25,000 species of orchids. These include the flor de mayo orchid (Cattleya mossiae), the national flower. Venezuela’s national tree is the araguaney, whose characteristic lushness after the rainy season led novelist Rómulo Gallegos to name it “the golden spring of the araguaneyes.”

Fauna

The fauna of Venezuela consists of a diverse group of unique animals; some 23% of reptilian and 50% of amphibian species that inhabit the country are endemic to Venezuela. Overall, around 8,000 species (the world’s 5th highest total) are endemic to the country.

Venezuela’s diverse wildlife includes manatees, Amazon river dolphins, and Orinoco crocodiles, which have been reported to reach up to 6.6 metres (22 ft) in length. Venezuela hosts a total of 1,417 bird species, 48 of which are endemic. Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers, and the yellow-orange turpial, the national bird.

Notable mammals include the Giant Anteater, jaguar, and the capybara, the world’s largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazonian forests south of the Orinoco.