Cattleya

Family Orchidaceae. Native to South and Central America, the Antilles. Probably the best-known genus of orchids. Cattleyas are epiphytic plants with a pronounced above-ground rhizome. In the wild there are about 70 species, and the various hybrids produced by biologists from interspecific crosses, as well as crosses with orchids of other genera, number in the thousands.

Cattleya labiata - this extensive species has the following general characteristics: a large spindle-shaped, somewhat flattened pseudobulb about 20 cm long, covered with grayish sheath-like scales. Leaves are leathery, elongated, about 20-25 cm long, with a small notch at the apex. Flowers are very large — up to 20 cm in diameter — gathered in groups of several (2-3) in an apical racemose inflorescence. Sepals and petals range from pink to lilac in various shades, with wavy margins, the sepals being roughly three times narrower than the petals. The lip is large, weakly three-lobed. The lateral lobes are rolled, while the middle lobe is wide and spread out, distinguished by a bright violet-purple coloration, a bright yellow patch in the throat and a ruffled, lighter margin.

Cattleya bowringiana - has large cylindrical stems about 30 cm long, narrowed at the lower part and forming a bulbous base. The stems are covered with light sheath-like scales and bear 2-3 leathery, elongated leaves with a notch at the apex, 15-20 cm long. Flowers on a rather short scape are grouped 3-5 per inflorescence, up to 10 cm in diameter. Sepals and petals range from pink to purple shades; the sepals are about twice as narrow as the petals. The lip is funnel-shaped, velvety, notched at the top and prominently protruding at the lower part, of intense coloration, with the throat white-yellow.

based on materials from the website www.iplants.ru