Cattleya

When we think about orchids, first of all, we think about Cattleya. To some people, it is difficult to accept some genera as orchid because they have, deeply in their mind, that the "appearance" of an orchid is the form of Cattleya's flower. To them, it is hard to believe that a flower with so different shape can be inside the Orchidaceae family.
The popularity of the orchid family is due, in most part, to the gorgeous appearance of many species of Cattleya's flowers.
Like every orchid, the flower is composed by three sepals and three petals. One of those petals is modified and receives the name of lip or lip. The petals and sepals have, in general, the same color and the lip, the most attractive part, is colorful.
Closely related to another genus, Laelia (*), there are some important differences between them. The mainly is the number of pollinia, while Cattleya has 4 (except for Cattleya dormaniana that has more two or four atrophied or rudimentary pollinia), Laelia has 8 (**).
This genus is distributed throughout the North (Mexico), Central and South America (until Argentina) where occurs the most part of the species. In Brazil, it is found in every state, since the extreme North, Pacaraima and Parima mountains, in the state of Roraima, in the boundary of Venezuela and Guiana until the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
From the approximately 50 species, 32 occur in Brazil, without including the great number of varieties existing inside the same species as well as the great number of natural hybrids between its own species or with another genera.
Due to the high capacity of hybridization, only in the nature and inside Brazil, its species inter-crossed more than 38 times (inter-specific hybrids, it means, between species inside the same genus), and with another genera (inter-generic hybrids), 31 times. With Laelia, it crossed 21 times. With Brassavola, 7 times and with Schomburgkia, 3 times.
In other words, there are more natural hybrids than species.
This genus is part of a group known as Cattleya Alliance which involves genera that belong to the Epidendreae Tribe and Laeliinae Subtribe. It is often crossed with some of those genera or could be:
Barkeria, Brassavola, Broughtonia, Caularthron (Diacrium), Constantia, Cattleya, Dimerandra, Encyclia, Epidendrum, Isabelia, Isochilus, Laelia, Leptotes, Oerstedella, Pseudolaelia, Rhyncholaelia, Schomburgkia, Sophronitella, Sophronitis, Tetramicra, between others.
Those crosses generated another artificial genera of great beauty that in their turn are re-crosses with another genera and thus successively.
Brassolaeliocattleya (Blc) and Potinara are those which produced more exuberant flowers and also the most famous. However, another genera, although less famous, are not less interesting such as Allenara, Brassocattleya,Cattleytonia, Cattotes, Dekensara, Dialaeliocattleya, Epicatonia, Epicattleya, Epilaeliocattleya, Fujiwarara, Hasegawaara, Hawkesara, Hawkinsara, Herbetara, Higashiara Hookerara, Iwanagara, Izumiara, Jewellara, Johnyeeara, Kawamotoara, Lyon, Mailamaiara, Maymoirara, Mizutara, Northenara, Opsiscattleya, Osmentara, Otaara, Recchara, Rolfeara, Rothara, Schombavola, Schombocatonia, Schombocattleya, Scullyara, Sophrocattleya, Sophrolaelia, Sophrolaeliocattleya, Stacyara, Stellamizutaara, Tetracattleya, Tuckeara, etc.
Regarding to the vegetative system, the genus Cattleya is divided into two big groups:
Monofoliate (or unifoliate or single leaf, also called labiata):
Cattleya labiata, mossiae, percivaliana, trianae, warscewiczii, etc.
Bifoliate (or two leaves and sometimes, with three leaves:
Cattleya acklandiae, amethystoglossa, bicolor, forbesii, granulosa, guttata, intermedia, leopoldii, schilleriana, skinneri, velutina, etc.
The monofoliate species bear less flowers than the bifoliate ones, but their flowers are larger and have an outstanding lip (labellum). In general, they produce no more than 4 flowers (often scented) which last for 15 or 20 days.
The flowers of Cattleya araguaiensis and Cattleya luteola are an exception because, although those species are monofoliate, their flowers are really smaller and the last one is one of the smaller species of the genus (both plant and flowers).
In general, the monofoliate species have expanded stems called pseudobulbs which storage water for the dormancy period.
The bifoliate species have slim stems (which are improper called pseudobulbs) which can have just a few centimeters or reach 60 cm, 1m or even 1.50m height. Cattleya amethystoglossa, bicolor, granulosa, guttata, leopoldii, schofieldiana and porphyroglossa are among the biggest plants of the genus.
Cattleya acklandiae is the smallest plant of bifoliate Cattleya and bears, sometimes, three leaves instead of two. The size of the flower is compensated by the great number of them. In many species the inflorescence can bear 14 flowers such C. skinneri or 20, C. bowringiana or 30, C. amethystoglossa.

Since l818, the orchids started to be grown in large scale when Mr. William Cattley of Barnet succeeded in making flowering a Cattleya labiata for the first time in Europe. For his surprising, that plant that he got wrapping up another ornamental plants he received from Brazil and collected in Serra dos Órgãos (Órgãos Mountains in the state of Rio de Janeiro) had a wonderful flower. Cattley showed it to John Lindley who named Cattleya in his homage and "labiata" because of its outstanding lip.
If the plants sent to Cattley were really from Serra dos Órgãos, a doubt remains, it could not be Cattleya labiata because it does not occur in the southeast, it is endemic to the northeast, in the states of Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba and Pernambuco.
In the southeast occurs C. warneri T. Moore which has been for long time considered as a variety of C. labiata (C. labiata var. warneri). Still today, some authors considered it as a variety.
From this remarkable event, the interest in orchids spread and the collectors who were commissioned to find similar plants in the same region.
During the 19th century, Mexico, Central America and South America have been invaded by plant hunters which destroyed whole habitats of orchids. They had two objects: the first one was to enrich the collections of those who sent them and the second was to preventing other collectors to find the same place because so rare the plant was, so expensive it was. Unfortunately many, many plants were lost because no one had an idea of how to cultivate those epiphytic plants. Most of them died during the trip.
By l830, John Lindley had suggested that orchids need damp, moist and hot conditions to be cultivated, as he was respected, this idea spread. Later, he concluded that as the plants grow in different altitude and different conditions, they need different environments to be cultivated off their habitats. Despite of this, people went on believing that they needed hot and humid climate. Thus, the plants that survived to the calamitous crossing of the Atlantic died due the heat, fungal and bacterial attacks provoked by the heat and high humidity.
This situation reached so incredible dimension that Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of Kew Gardens, an orchid taxonomist, commented that England became the "the graveyard of tropical orchids" due to the incredible quantity of plants dying because of the inappropriate cultivation, inside super heathouses. Because of all those difficulties, by that time, orchids were sold by unbelievable prices (for that time).
Europe discovered, in this way, the Cattleya.
Belgium, France, Germany and England became the most important trader of orchids and the importation reach the top by l850 although the conditions of transportation were still very bad.