Cattleya aclandiae

Last updated

Cattleya aclandiae
Cattleya aclandiae Orchi 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Cattleya
Subgenus: Cattleya subg. Intermediae
Species:
C. aclandiae
Binomial name
Cattleya aclandiae
Synonyms
  • Cattleya aucklandiae
  • Cattleya auclandii
  • Epidendrum acklandiae
  • Epidendrum aclandiae

Cattleya aclandiae, or Lady Ackland's cattleya, is a species of orchid from the genus Cattleya , named in honor of Lady Lydia Elizabeth Ackland, wife of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet who was the first European to grow the plant successfully. The illustration of the plant which accompanied its first description was based on a drawing by Lady Ackland. The genus was named in honour of William Cattley, a prominent British merchant and horticulturist.

Contents

Distribution

Cattleya aclandiae is found growing on tree limbs and trunks in the Brazilian state of Bahia. It has a very small natural range and is found growing in the wind southwest of Salvador on elevated plateaus that border the drainage of the Paraguaçu River. Its native habitat is seasonally dry forests between 100 and 400 meters in elevation near permanent bodies of water.

Description

Cattleya aclandiae is compact and only grows 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) tall. The upright, short, cylindrical pseudobulbs have two fleshy leaves at the apex. Sometimes, purple blotches are found on the leaves when the plants are exposed to intense sunlight. Each growth produces between one and three 2.5 to 4 inches (6.4 to 10.2 centimetres) and the flowers are large for the size of the plant. Flowers are substantial, waxy, and long-lived. Flower color is white or near-white with purple blotches and spots. The lip has a dark purple blotch and the anther cap is yellow. Flowers bloom in the spring and summer on new growths.

Cultivation

Cattleya aclandiae has been widely used by orchid breeders to produce compact hybrids. When crossed with other bifoliate cattleyas, the spotted pattern is present in the offspring. Hybrids of this species generally produce plants that flower two or more times per year.

Several color varieties of C. aclandiae are known. A coerulea form is available in the orchid trade. The 'Rubra' varieties exhibit intensely deep rose lips with very large dark spots on petals and sepals, these spots often coalescing to appear almost solid deep chocolate brown. The 'alba' varieties have petals and sepals of clear lime green with snow white lips. 'Albescen' varieties have sepals and petals of light green with very pastel spots and white lips with little or no color. The more common forms of c. aclandiae have sepal and petal background colors that range from clear green with dark spots to quite yellow with dark spots. The spotting pattern may be bold, almost solid in some clones to more 'peppered', with lips ranging from light rose to deep rose-purple.

In cultivation, C. aclandiae prefers intermediate to warm orchid growing temperatures. Ample water is needed during periods of active growth; less water during the winter. High humidity is appreciated as long as adequate air circulation is present. Grow on cork bark or tree fern mounts or in pots with a coarse, free-draining growing media (fir bark or equivalent).

Related Research Articles

<i>Cattleya</i> Genus of orchids

Cattleya is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals.

<i>Laelia</i> Genus of orchids

Laelia is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Laelia species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. Laelia is abbreviated L. in the horticultural trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellebore</span> Genus of plants

Commonly known as hellebores, the Eurasian genus Helleborus consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. Despite names such as "winter rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae). Many hellebore species are poisonous.

<i>Miltonia</i> Genus of orchids

Miltonia, abbreviated Milt. in the horticultural trade, is an orchid genus comprising twelve epiphyte species and eight natural hybrids. The miltonias are exclusively inhabitants of Brazil, except for one species whose range extends from Brazil into the northeast of Argentina and the east of Paraguay.

<i>Bletilla</i> Genus of orchids

Bletilla, common name urn orchid, is a temperate, terrestrial genus of orchids containing five currently recognized species distributed through China, Japan, Taiwan, south to Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. The name is actually a diminutive of Bletia because of the resemblance between the two genera even though Bletia is a New World genus. The genera JimensiaRaf. and PolytomaLour. ex Gomes are generally included into Bletilla. This genus is abbreviated Ble in trade journals.

<i>Anacamptis morio</i> Species of plant

Anacamptis morio, the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid, is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East.

<i>Leptotes</i> (plant) Genus of orchids

Leptotes, abbreviated Lpt in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids formed by nine small species that grow in the dry jungles of south and southeast Brazil, and also in Paraguay or Argentina. They are small epiphytic plants of caespitose growth that sometimes resemble little Brassavola, as they share the same type of thin terete leaves, though they are more closely related to Loefgrenianthus.

<i>× Laeliocattleya</i> Genus of orchids

Laeliocattleya is a nothogenus of intergeneric orchid hybrids descended from the parental genera Laelia and Cattleya. It is abbreviated Lc. in the horticultural trade.

<i>Corallorhiza maculata</i> Species of orchid

Corallorhiza maculata, or spotted coralroot, is a North American coralroot orchid. It has four varieties: C. maculata var. occidentalis, C. maculata var. maculata, C. maculata var. mexicana, and C. maculata var. ozettensis. It is widespread through Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, St. Pierre & Miquelon, and much of the western and northern United States. It grows mostly in montane woodlands.

<i>Cattleya purpurata</i> Species of orchid

Cattleya purpurata, known in the past as Laelia purpurata and Sophronitis purpurata, is native to Brazil where it is very popular among orchid growers. It is an epiphyte that is found in the canopy of tall trees near coastal areas, in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The orchid favors bright light and cool to warm conditions and is relative easy to cultive. C. purpurata has been used extensively as a parent in hybridizing with Cattleyas. Cattleya purpurata blooms from late spring to fall with three to five flowers on a spike. The flowers are long-lasting and fragrant.

<i>Phalaenopsis equestris</i> Species of orchid

Phalaenopsis equestris is a flowering plant of the orchid genus Phalaenopsis and native to Philippines and Taiwan. The inflorescence has 10 to 20 flowers of about 25 mm (1 in) diameter.

<i>Cattleya amethystoglossa</i> Species of orchid

Cattleya amethystoglossa is a bifoliate species of orchid from the genus Cattleya.

<i>Cattleya maxima</i> Species of plant

Cattleya maxima is a species of orchid in subfamily Epidendroideae found from Ecuador to Peru.

<i>Cymbidium canaliculatum</i> Species of orchid

Cymbidium canaliculatum, commonly known as the channelled boat-lip orchid, tiger boat-lip orchid, native cymbidium or tiger orchid is a plant in the orchid family and is endemic to Australia. It is a clump-forming epiphyte with large, greyish green pseudobulbs, each with up to six curved, deeply channelled leaves and up to sixty fragrant, variably coloured flowers that often have spots and blotches and a white to cream-coloured labellum with red markings. This orchid usually grows in the forks or hollows of trees and is found from New South Wales to the northern parts of Western Australia.

<i>Cymbidium eburneum</i> Species of orchid

Cymbidium eburneum, the ivory-colored cymbidium, is a species of orchid.

<i>Phalaenopsis bellina</i> Species of orchid

Phalaenopsis bellina is an orchid endemic to Borneo. It is one of 75 species of Phalaenopsis and one of the most commonly cultivated species in the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waling-waling</span> Species of orchid

Vanda sanderiana is a species of orchid. It is commonly called Waling-waling in the Philippines and is also called Sander's Vanda, after Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a noted orchidologist. The orchid is considered to be the "Queen of Philippine flowers" and is worshiped as a diwata by the indigenous Bagobo people.

Encyclia fehlingii is a species of orchid that was named for Gladys Fehling who lived on Andros Island in the Bahamas and spent much of her time searching for the orchids of the area and growing them for her own pleasure. The plants of Encyclia fehlingii are epiphytic and grew mostly in the Fresh Creek area on Andros, but the species has also been found on New Providence Island and on Abaco.

<i>Cattleya rex</i> Species of plant

Cattleya rex is a species of epiphytic orchid of showy white flowers, native to montane forests in Peru and Bolivia.

<i>Caladenia oenochila</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia oenochila, commonly known as the red-lipped spider orchid, or wine-lipped spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale yellow-green flower with purple marks and a dark red labellum.

References