Official country name: Estados Unidos Méxicanos

Mexico’s national flag was created in 1821, after the victory of the independence movement. Green stands for the independence movement, white for the purity of the Catholic faith and red for the blood shed in the struggle for independence. The Flag Day is celebrated on 24 February.

Mexico’s national tree is the cypress. The most spectacular specimen of this genus is the gigantic 2000 year old tree of Tule in the village of the same name near Oaxaca. (Photo: © Gengiskanhg)

Mexico’s national flower is the dahlia. Its hollow stem already served the Aztec hunters as a water reservoir. In fact, acocotli, the Aztec name of the dahlia, means water pipe. (Photo: Andreas Volkmer)

Mexico’s national coat of arms reflects the Aztec founding myth. Legend has it that the gods, as the Aztecs migrated south, meant to build their capital where they would see an eagle sitting on a cactus eating a snake. Finally, the Aztecs saw that mythical eagle, on a swampy island in the middle of a lake, at the place where the huge Zócalo Mexico City stretches out today.