Peristeria elata - "Holy Ghost Orchid"

Have you heard about the "holy ghost orchid", the national flower of Panama? 
Yes, Peristeria elata.
      Peristeria elata, the national flower of Panama is a species of the orchid family commonly known as "dove orchid" or "holy ghost orchid". The name of this genus was taken from the Greek word peristerion meaning "dove".

Family: Orchidaceae

Binomial name : Peristeria elata Hook.

Peristeria elata
Image courtesy: TommyCrash /
Wikimedia commons
(CC BY-SA 3.0)

Distribution:

        It is widely distributed in the American tropics from Costa Rica and Panama south to Peru and Brazil.

Habitat:

       Peristeria elata is commonly found in shaded grassland edges in tropical forests at altitudes of 100 to 700 m.

Plant morphology:

     They have teardrop-shaped (ovate) pseudobulbs covered with papery sheaths. Its leaves are simple and lanceolate-elliptic in shape with a plicate leaf surface which arises from the apex of pseudobulbs and the inflorescence are arise from the base of the pseudobulbs may be pendulous or erect and from 6 inches to 4 feet long, bearing 4-20 flowers. 
       The base colour of the flowers is white with some pink or red spots. The flowers are fragrant and cup-shaped with white petals and sepals. The central part of the flower has a well-defined dove shape. Peristeria elata blooms between the months of July and October.

Chemical Constituents:
       According to several research studies, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, phenol and 1, 8-cineole were considered to be important components of the aroma of the flower of Peristeria elata.

Uses:

• It is widely used as an ornamental flower. Its ethnobotanical uses are not yet reported.

For further reading:

• Carol Siegel (2012). "Orchids: Beautiful symbols of beautiful places". Orchid Digest. 8-19.
• Jirovetz, Leopold; Gonzalez, Jaime Espinosa; Silvera, Gaspar; Nikiforov, Alexej; Woidich, Alexander (1992-09-01). "Volatile Constituents of Peristeria elata (Orchidaceae)". Journal of Essential Oil Research. 4 (5): 435–438. DOI:10.1080/10412905.1992.9698106. ISSN 1041-2905.