Home to a particularly rich variety of plants and animal life. A total of 972 species of birds have been identified so far, more than are found in the United States and Canada combined. The country is also home to well over 200 mammals and 200 reptiles species, close to 200 amphibian species, and more than 10,000 species of plants. Some of these are found nowhere else on earth.
Trees and plants
Panama’s plant life is among the most diverse in the world. Panama has 21 times the plant diversity of Brazil.
Heliconias, a close relative of bananas and birds-of-paradise,
display their brightly colored, crab-claw shaped flowers in dense
thickets along streams and freshwater lakes. These plants
evolved along with hummingbirds that pollinate them, creating
an interaction that displays such intense beauty and complexity.
In addition to the natural flora of Panama, Canal Zone residents
enjoyed a diversity of flowering plants and shrubs around their homes.
Hibiscus, ginger, and bougainvillea thrived in the tropical gardens.
Some of the most exotic and prized flowering plants in Panama are the Hotlips, Heliconia and the Poor Man’s Umbrella.
Panama has more than 1000 species of orchids, many of them endemic. The delicate white espiritu santo (holy ghost) orchid, also known as the dove orchid, is considered Panama’s national flower.
There are 480 species of trees just on the 15 square kilometers of Isla Barro Colorado, more than are found in all of Europe. The Panama tree (sterculia apetala) is widely thought of as the national tree, and some maintain it gave the country its name. It has a straight trunk that can grow up to 35 meters tall, with vertical buttresses around its base.
The ceiba or kapok (ceiba pentandra) can reach 60 meters and often just above other trees in the forest. One kapok specimen on Isla Barro Colorado is so huge other trees grow on its branches.
The espave or wild cashew has a trunk so straight and tall that indigenous peoples use it to make dugout canoes. One explanation of its name is that espave is contraction of es para ver (“it’s for seeing”) meaning it’s a good tree to climb to see what’s off in the distance.
Birds
Panama is especially well known for its incredible number and diversity of bird species. Besides its vast local population, more than 120 species are migrants that regularly cross the isthmus on the way to and from their winter homes. The famous (among birders) raptor migration of broad-winged hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and turkey vultures is absolutely spectacular. October-mid-November and March-early-April, they pass overhead in flocks that can number in the many thousands.
Other species likely to impress non-birders include five species of macaws (blue-and-yellow, chestnut-fronted, great green, red-and-green, and the rare scarlet) ; several species of toucans and toucanets; the harpy eagle, the world’s most powerful bird of prey; and the resplendent quetzal, which has been called the most beautiful bird on the planet. The harpy eagle is the national bird of Panama and is depicted on the coat of arms of Panama.
A Journey. A Move to Panama. 