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