The case of Cattleya mendeli (ancient) and Cattleya mendelii (modern).

[Manfred Busche]

To all Cattleya fans.

I have the pleasure to grow one clone of each of C. mendeli and C. mendelii ...

What the heck is the difference one letter 'i' makes in a Cattleya name ? In case of mendeli vs mendelii . the flowers of both are distinctly different , and it is to me , and only to me , NOT the case of a synonym.

I speculate that my individual specimen of C. mendeli must be 150+ years of age , which fact(?) fills me with awe ,
kind of ... I like to think that this specimen could be the only one left on earth from the old days , which would make it irreplaceable. (smile)

And though my clone of [C. mendelii Carlos Arango] shares in the judgement as one of the best 'modern' C. mendelii ,
see below , it could be easily replaced if lost.
Cattleya mendelii Dombrain – Unifoliate Cattleyas

The eminent Arthur A. Chadwick has explained everything nicely , including photos , see here ::
Cattleya mendelii

Needless to say , I care for this my specimen of C. mendeli with special attention. When the buds are out of the sheath and growing in bulk , I hang the plant every night in a safe place to prevent those big locusts from getting at them. (smile)

[isurus79]

I'd love to see some comparison photos showing both of them in bloom!

[Manfred Busche]

Originally Posted by isurus79

I'd love to see some comparison photos showing both of them in bloom!

I am a bit of a pedantic perfectionist , and I do not do photos of orchid blooms , because they cannot transmit the
vivid beauty of the natural flowers. For this reason , I have no 'stock photos'.

But I do appreciate the logic and the wish for comparison photos in this case , and I will provide.

However , as both plants just had their annual flowering , we need to wait for a little while , sorry.