Cattleya velutina - Lost species

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Jan Pahl

Beautiful plant, velutinas outside brazil are rare inside collections

By the way, C. velutina in the nature is rare to very rare but not extinct (the same thing for C. schilleriana)... São Paulo is one of those places were is lost.

There's a lot of stories, none of them is true. I pay you a candy if you find one in nature that wasn't put there by someone willing to prove it still can be found ! And if you know where it can be found, please don't tell anybody !

[priz_m]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

Impossible not to stop and think, isn't it Priz? I am comfortably sitting here, in my home, where once was the habitat of this species... the original forest cover is gone to give place to the big city, the orchids with it.

I know Mauro, so sad we have to sacrifice one thing for the other...

[camille1585]

I can't believe that I missed this thread, this Catt is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pics.
It's another fine example on how mankind is destroying everything with no thoughts for the amazing biodiversity that live in those forests, and everywhere else on earth.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I can't believe that I missed this thread, this Catt is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pics.
It's another fine example on how mankind is destroying everything with no thoughts for the amazing biodiversity that live in those forests, and everywhere else on earth.

Unfortunately, this is true everywhere, Camille!

[Roly0217]

Mauro I saw the picture but then I missed the thread. It is a beautiful Cattleya, so sad that it can't be found in nature any longer. Will you be selfing this one to try to produce more of them??? I would love to have something like that in my collection.

[greenbean]

It always makes me sad to see yet another example of humans basically destroying themselves bit by bit. Most people wouldn't consider the loss of an orchid in the wild to be important, but everything is connected, so you never know what will be the key thread that will bring down the entire web.

That being said, this is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! I'd love to make a small sacrifice (yeah, "sacrifice") to help preserve it. I'll be eagerly awaiting your culture article!

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Roly0217

Mauro I saw the picture but then I missed the thread. It is a beautiful Cattleya, so sad that it can't be found in nature any longer. Will you be selfing this one to try to produce more of them??? I would love to have something like that in my collection.

Yes, Rolando, I'm planning to cross polinate it next year (to help with the genetics of the progeny). If I cannot find pollen of a different plant I'm selfing it anyway!

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by greenbean

It always makes me sad to see yet another example of humans basically destroying themselves bit by bit. Most people wouldn't consider the loss of an orchid in the wild to be important, but everything is connected, so you never know what will be the key thread that will bring down the entire web.

That being said, this is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! I'd love to make a small sacrifice (yeah, "sacrifice") to help preserve it. I'll be eagerly awaiting your culture article!

Well said, Evan! We never know when the entire web is coming down due to something we, as human race, are doing.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Jan Pahl

there is a copy-paste from Francisco Miranda... Maybe he have to pay you more than one Candy


Another of the tall and delicate bifoliates is Cattleya velutina. This is a species with a wide distribution area, although it is very rare throughout its range and besides, several of its habitats have been destroyed. The species used to occur in the forests of the Pinheiros River that now is inside the city of São Paulo and thus no more forests. The species can still be found in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. Plants grow inside the forest at elevations from about 700m. (2,300') and up to about 1.200 m. (4,000'), under shady and humid conditions. Flowers are produced up to about 8 per inflorescence, but more normally 3-5. These are about 7-8 cm. (around 3") across, sometimes a bit more, and have a very distinctive shape, color and fragrance. Color varies from green to yellowish-brown (as pictured), and flower segments are always wavy and reflected back; variations on the lip are basically restricted to the amount of brownish color on its margin. Flowering season in Summer.

These forests are all devastated by human activities. I respect Francisco, if he says the plant can still be found in Rio de Janeiro, so maybe a few plants still are there somewhere. But one or two plants is like extinct for me because one species can't rely on one or two plants to survive in nature. It's the same in Bahia, the so said last refuge of this species. Tourist folders and official books say the plant last habitats are in Chapada Diamantina. This is the kind of information we don't need and help disseminate the false impression the species is saved. I went there to see it, I walk everywhere and asked as many people as I could and nobody knew about the occurrence of the species. But the official tourist book has a beautiful photo of it saying where it can be found!
I am saying that the plant is extinct because there's no more any population in the wild with a reasonable number of individuals to assure its survival as a species. I wish I am wrong in all this, of course .

[Frdemetr]

Mauro,

Waldyr Endsfeldz dreamed of finding the C velutina (the so-called 'Paulista' variety) in a forest reserve in Caieiras, but he died before achieving. The forest to which I refer is private, but I have permission to enter. I'm trying to contact the Campacci to go, if you want to go is also invited! Mail me in pvt!