Cattleya (Laelia) purpurata 'Schusteriana' HCC/AOS

[Jmoney]

Love this color form. I believe 'Schusteriana' was the first of this form to be named, and dates back to the late 1800s. Over the years many cultivars have been shown (and awarded) as "variety" or 'forma' schusteriana although roxo-violeta is the correct term. I got this as a division of the original cultivar, which is amazingly pretty widely-distributed. Along the way it picked up an HCC in 1989. I find the history of this particular plant to be fascinating, as it traces most recently to a few well-known private collectors in CA, then back to Stewarts, and back further to Lager & Hurrell, who got their plant supposedly from England. Of course the provenance is only as good as your source but I believe this to be accurate...

[isurus79]

Looks great!

[Roberta]

I am eagerly waiting for mine (still have 3-4 weeks or so before they emerge but sheaths are getting fatter) , so I will enjoy yours in the meantime! Of the various color forms, this one (under whatever the name) is the earliest to bloom for me, then the others in a progression that usually ends with carnea, sanguinea, and werkhauseri in July. One can't have too many purpuratas!

[Jmoney]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I am eagerly waiting for mine (still have 3-4 weeks or so before they emerge but sheaths are getting fatter) , so I will enjoy yours in the meantime! Of the various color forms, this one (under whatever the name) is the earliest to bloom for me, then the others in a progression that usually ends with carnea, sanguinea, and werkhauseri in July. One can't have too many purpuratas!

I've heard the darker ones tend to bloom later in the season...not sure if that's true across the board but my flammea and sanguinea are still developing their buds. I wish I had room for more color forms! (also my 3 tenebrosa take up a bit of space...)

[Roberta]

I have found that it is not just "darker" - vinicolor tends to bloom right after the schusteriana and other red semialbas. But just some varieties - werkhauseri is nearly the last, carnea not much before, and both of those are mostly white with just lip color. In Brazil, they have shows dedicated to specific color forms (when they have their dominant bloom times). From the photos I have seen, they have line bred to get flowers that we can't even get close to. (On the other hand, I'm not wild about species that look like hybrids... my question is always, "Would the pollinators recognize them?")

[Jmoney]

I've always wondered about the genetics of purpurata color schemes. Like is it possible to get some various other forms such as carnea, werckhauseri, etc, if you self a 'tipo' form? Or are they individually recessive. or maybe, more likely, it's very complex...

[Roberta]

I suspect that it is complex... There's huge natural variation, but then there has been line breeding for years. L. (C.) purpurata breeding has been raised to a high art in Brazil, they are light-years ahead of everybody else. I think that, for instance, there were very few f. werkhauseri found in nature, and they were nurtured and line bred (and probably cloned as well), so that they're available to the "rest of us".

Actually, I have been looking for an actual tipo' for awhile... I have one with a cultivar name of 'Tipo' x self, the parent was awarded. The description is of a flower with white petals with veining, and rose colored lip. I got this one from SVO (I think from a society auction). When it bloomed, it was a lovely alba. i emailed Fred Clarke about it, he said that about 25% of them did come out white (so he had a piece of the awarded plant and selfed it). Clearly, it was line bred, there was an alba in there somewhere, and for some, the genetics popped out that way. So still looking for that elusive tipo, not sure what it even looks like. So this one is 'Tipo' AM/AOS x self ... but not f. tipo x self.

[Jmoney]

I always thought the 'tipo' form is some lavender color in the petals/sepals, somewhat deeper color in the lip. or maybe its everything that doesn't fit into the various named 'forms'...

[Roberta]

I thought so too. With a yard full of purpuratas of various color forms from various sources over the years, that one seems to be elusive. Or maybe everything being bred now is a "named" form. At any rate, I love my purpuratas but don't have room for any more...