Bolivia’s national flowers: Patujú and Kantuta
Did you know Bolivia has 2 national flowers? Bolivia’s national flowers or floral emblems are the “kantuta” and the “patujú”.
The kantuta (Cantua buxifolia) is native to the Andean region of the country in the west. The patujú (Heliconia rostrata) is native to the eastern Amazonian tropics of Bolivia. Both are red-yellow-green in color, like the Bolivian flag.
Bolivia is a very diverse country and these TWO Bolivian national flowers are a symbol of unity between the two big different regions with their own distintive cultures: The Andes region and the Amazone rainforest region; totally different nations but united as one country.
The kantuta (in Quechua language) a.k.a. flor sagrada del Inca (sacred flower of the Inca) or magic flower. The Kantutas are tiny fragile plants with long, tubular flowers. It looks like an elongated bell and it is pollinated by hummingbirds. They bloom in mid to late spring and can be colored white, yellow, orange, red, magenta, with some varieties sporting multiple colors. This last multicolor flower containing red, yellow, and green is a national emblem in Bolivia.
The legend of the Kantuta:
A long time ago there were two powerful and wealthy Incan kings in the Kollasuyo (Bolivian highlands). They became jealous and attacked and killed each other during combat. Each king had one son, and although they initially were against war they both decided to continue the war and promised to revenge their fathers. Sadly, history repeated itself and the princes were mortally wounded in the second battle. But this time, before dying they forgave each other. It was then when Pachamama (Mother Earth goddess) appeared and told the princes that they should not be punished for their fathers’ faults. As punishment for their fathers wrongdoing their stars fell from the sky and crashed to the earth, forming the two high snow-covered mountains Illimani and Illampu. These mountains can be see today on the Bolivian Altiplano.
The rivers of melting snow coming from these mountains are their tears of regret and they now fertilize the valleys where the Kantuta flower grows.
The patuju is a very large herbaceous plant that grows in the rainforests of South America, Africa and Madagascar. The exotic flowers look like hanging lobster claw or false bird of paradise.
The Patuju grows everywhere in the city of Santa Cruz. It is common to find patuju plants also in people’s tropical gardens. The flower is colourful with big red-yellow-green flowers hanging downward and it grows all over the place. It is not only a source of nectar to birds but is also stores water after rain, that is why it attracts insects and birds. Hummingbirds love it and we love them! We hope you learned something about Bolivia’s national flowers.
