National flower of argentina

The flower of the ceibo is the national flower of Argentina.

The national flower of Argentina is the ceibo, whose scientific name is Erythrina crista-galli. On November 22, 1943, by decree 138,974 of the executive branch, it was declared as such by Argentina. The ceibo is also known by the names seibo, seibo, gallito or bucaré. It is also the national flower of Uruguay.

Reasons for appointment

To designate the national flower, in 1943, the Ministry of Agriculture appointed a special commission that proposed the ceibo as the national flower at the initiative of the engineer and Director of Walks and Gardens of La Plata, Alberto V. Oitaven (author of the book The ceibo, Argentine national flower, in 1943).

Among other recitals, decree 138974 (of December 23, 1942, published on January 25, 1943) highlights the reasons for the election:

• That the flower of the ceibo has deserved the preference of a large number of inhabitants from different parts of the country, in the various popular surveys promoted by organs of journalism and cultural and scientific entities.
• That these circumstances have determined the knowledge of the blossom of the ceibo in almost all the countries of Europe and America, where it already appears, by virtue of these precedents, as a floral representative of the Argentine Republic.
• That the flower of the ceibo, whose diffusion spans extensive areas of the country, has been evoked in aboriginal legends and sung by poets, also serving as a motif for musical pieces that have enriched our folklore, with artistic expressions of popular and typically indigenous hondo arraigo.
• That the color of the ceibo is among those who bear our shield, expression of argentinity and emblem of our homeland.
• That besides possessing the tree of the ceibo, by its wood, industrial applications, its extraordinary resistance to the medium and its easy multiplication have contributed to the geological formation of the mesopotamian delta, pride of the country and admiration of the world.
• That various official, civil and military institutions have established the plantation of the ceibo at the foot of the mast that sustains our flag, thus assigning it a symbolic and traditionalist character.
• On the other hand, there is no flower in the Republic that encloses botanical, phytogeographic, artistic or historical characteristics that have deserved the unanimity of the opinions to assign it hierarchy of national flower, so that the predilections, as it has been revealed in the surveys and contests carried out.
• In addition, there is no possibility that a particular plant will cover without a solution of continuity the entire extension of the country for the diversity of its climatic and ecological conditions.

Legend has it that on the shores of the Paraná there lived an ugly indiet of rough features, called Anahí. Although it was ugly, in the summer evenings he delighted all the people of his Guaraní tribe with their songs inspired by their gods and the love of the land they owned... But the invaders came, those mighty, daring and aggrieved white-skinned beings, who dragged the tribes and snatched the lands, the idols, and their freedom.

Anahí was taken captive along with other indigenous people. She spent many days crying and many nights in vigil, until one day when the dream beat her sentinel, the indiet managed to escape, but in doing so, the sentinel woke up, and she, to achieve her goal, sank a handful in her guardian's chest, and fled quickly to the jungle.

The cry of the dying jailer awakened the other Spaniards, who went out in a persecution that became the hunt of poor Anahí, who at the time was reached by the conquerors. These, in vengeance for the death of the guard, imposed death on the fire as punishment.

They tied it to a tree and started the fire, which seemed not to extend its flames to the indigenous maiden, who without murmuring a word, suffered in silence, with her head bowed to a side. And when the fire began to rise, Anahí became a tree, identifying himself with the plant in an amazing miracle.

At the next dawn, the soldiers met before the spectacle of a beautiful tree of bright green leaves, and velvety red flowers, which were shown in all its splendor, as the symbol of courage and strength before suffering.