Cattleya dolosa Pics and Info

[Anglo]

This is an ordinary seedling.



This one is a result of more selective breeding. It’s rounder and flatter and has a broader lip.



The rounder, fuller one has only a faint, fruity fragrance during the day. The plainer one in the first picture has a beautiful fragrance. Stronger, sweeter, and more complex. It's at its best from mid-morning into the afternoon.

Dolosas are easy to please and easy to bloom. They are vigorous plants with thick, fast growing roots. I grow them in wooden baskets full of coarse fir bark, the same way I grow other Catts. The roots grow quickly through the medium. Some stay in it and some emerge to continue growing as aerial roots or adhere along the outer surfaces of the basket.

C. dolosa is a Brazilian bifoliate that was first described in 1876. It grows as a lithophyte in the state of Minas Gerais and blooms in the spring and/or fall. It's been classified in various ways, including as a natural hybrid of C. loddigesii and C. walkeriana, which many still believe it to be, even though it has since been reclassified as a distinct species.

One reason for the reclassification was that it could not be reproduced through artificial crosses. A loddigesii x walkeriana cross results in a hybrid known as Cattleya Heathii, which is a little different. Some agree with the current taxonomy, but some don’t. Brazilian orchid growers commonly regard C. dolosa as a natural hybrid.

The Latin species name means “deceiver.” It reflects the confusion associated with classifying this Cattleya. And there is some additional man-made deception. Breeders have been known to assign the term “dolosa” to Heathiis or hybrids with dolosa and loddigesii or walkeriana as a parent. And it appears to have been used deceptively in breeding walkerianas on occasion. For example, C. walkeriana 'Kenny' AM/AOS and C. walkeriana 'Pendentive' AM/AOS both have C. dolosa in their backgrounds.

C. dolosa is not commonly grown in the United States, but it is fairly popular in Brazil where some fine and award-winning cultivars have been produced in various colors.

[Oscarman]

Thanks for the pictures and interesting information regarding this Cattleya. I have 5 seedlings, so it will be interesting to see what they are like.

[ScottMcC]

very interesting. I like both the "ordinary" and "improved" forms, but for different reasons, and it's hard for me to say from here which I think is better. so maybe I need one of each for my collection to really compare...heh heh.

actually, you're really making me want to get into species catts now! just when the slippers have taken the lead, the catts fight back...

[Wendy]

Very nice. Thanks for the photos and the info. Both flowers are great but i prefer the ordinary seedling for some reason.

[Anglo]

I like the ordinary one better. It's a good example of the species, and the fragrance of the other one was disappointing.

And Dave, I'm really glad to hear that you have 5 seedlings. Dolosas are worthy of more interest than they seem to have among orchid growers. One of the things I like about them is the variety that can occur within the species. They're like walkerianas in that respect.

I have a young seedling also. A little tiny one that had coerulea parents. I screwed up at first by putting it in a small basket with fir bark. It looked stressed after a few weeks so I took a look at the roots and saw that most of them had dehydrated beyond hope of recovery. I repotted it in coconut husk chips and it's putting out new roots now. I should have considered that it would need more constant moisture than the big ones.

[Ray]

To be technically correct, as it is a hybrid, the specific name should be capitalized, Cattleya Dolosa. If the plant is a natural hybrid, one adda an "x" in front of it - x Cattleya Dolosa

[Anglo]

Ray, this is just what I find most interesting about this Catt. I see the name written "C. Dolosa" or "C. x dolosa," but usually "C. dolosa." I've read every reference I could find on it and the more I read, the more conflicting opinions I found as to whether it truly is a hybrid or a species.

The mystery about its origin is actually the first thing that prompted my interest in it. I could be convinced either way and hope to eventually learn something more definitive to become fully convinced. So far, I tend to think of it as a species because it occurs naturally over a wide area and has not been duplicated artificially.

But you, having more orchid knowledge than I have, think of it as a hybrid. How did you come to that conclusion?

[Mahon]

Your plant is actual a subspecific of Cattleya walkeriana...

The correct form for this taxon is:
Cattleya walkeriana var. dolosa

This variety was described by H.J Veitch in 1887, and published in Man. Orchid. Pl. 1, pt. 2: 50.

-Pat

[Tindomul]

Hey! Great info! Nice platnts! I really like the first one too.

[Anglo]

And here's a later reference:

Cattleya dolosa [Rchb.f] Rchb.f 1876 subgen Intermedia [Cogn.] Withner 1989