8 plants worth knowing
Guatemala
Guatemala packs very different landscapes into a small area: volcanic highlands with pine–oak forests and misty cloud forests, the lowland rainforest of Petén with the ruins of Maya cities, the dry “corridor” of the Motagua Valley with cacti and thorny scrub, and the agricultural Pacific lowland. The Maya Biosphere Reserve in the north is the largest protected area in Central America.
Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.
where it grows
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1
Monja blanca
Lycaste virginalis
The snow-white “nun” of the misty Verapaz forests – the rare white form of this orchid is Guatemala’s national flower.
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2
Kapok tree
Ceiba pentandra
The sacred tree of the Maya, linking the underworld, earth and sky – it grows on the squares of many Guatemalan towns.
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3
Arabica coffee
Coffea arabica
Coffee from Antigua and Huehuetenango is among the most highly prized in the world – grown in the shade of trees on volcanic slopes.
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4
Maize
Zea mays
According to the sacred book Popol Vuh, the gods shaped people from maize dough – the Maya are the “people of maize”.
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5
Guatemalan fir
Abies guatemalensis
An endangered fir from Guatemala’s highest mountains – the traditional Christmas tree, now strictly protected.
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6
Cacao
Theobroma cacao
The sacred drink of the Maya – a 5th-century vessel with the hieroglyph “kakaw” and traces of cacao inside was found in Petén.
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7
Green cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
An Indian spice of which Guatemala is now the world’s largest exporter – mostly from Alta Verapaz.
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8
Banana
Musa acuminata
Bananas are one of Guatemala’s main exports, and their history is intertwined with that of the United Fruit Company.
Guatemala on other Ominuvo maps
- World in NumbersPopulation: 18.7 million (2025)Source: World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0)
- Languages of the worldSpanish · official languageSource: Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3)
- Prices around the worldGuatemalan quetzal (GTQ)Source: ISO 4217
- Time zones mapUTC−6Source: IANA tz database (public domain)
- Plugs and sockets of the worldType A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz
- National dishes of the world2 national dishes
- Castles map1 castleSource: Wikidata (CC0 1.0)
- Volcano & earthquake map20 volcanoesSource: Smithsonian GVP (Smithsonian Terms of Use)
- VPN provider mapServers of 9 VPN providersSource: VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0)