Cattleya tenuis

[Rosim_in_BR]

This plant used to sporadically appear in shows before 1983, always misidentified, sometimes as C. granulosa, other times as some sort of C. bicolor variety. Nobody really paid attention to the plant and flower characteristics that didn't match correctly with none of these species until a friend of mine, Marcos Campacci, describe it as a new species. He named it after its very thin pseudo bulbs. Its irradiation centre is the Chapada Diamantina in Bahia where a few plants of a natural hybrid with C. elongata has been found (Cattleya x tenuata).

Cattleya tenuis Campacci & Vedovello on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[cb977]

That's lovely, Mauro!

Thank you for teaching us as we enjoy your chids

[CoolPhrog]

Fantastic, Mauro! I love the spots!

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Jan Pahl

Mauro do you have more info about Cattleya tenuis, ecology and maybe some info about color variability

Another topic.....In my understanding the only constant difference between tenuis and all bicolor subspecies are the sidelobes... what I mean is a difference that is always present
It's that true?

C. tenuis is found in the lower areas of Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, between 800 and 1000 meters asl (the highest altitudes there are a little over 2.000 meters asl, where Laelia sincorana lives). In its areas of occurrence it is or terrestrial growing mixed with the short vegetation, or rupicolous or sometimes epiphytic, in this case always close to the ground. The area of occurrence has a characteristic vegetation, a dry type of forest that is not caatinga yet (typical of the still lower areas), but also not cerrado. The temperatures in the Diamantina area can be cold. At the top of the tepuis the temperature often falls to something as low as 10-12º at night. Around the 1000-1200 meters asl 18-22ºC are the commonest temperatures. The area is subject to a marked dry period during the year, but there's always plenty of dew during the night and this is what allows the rupicolous life to survive in a so wonderful diversity as it is found in the rupicolous fields there. Cattleya tenuis is part of this complex eco system.
Colors in C. tenuis go from sort of a bottle green (see the link Cattleya tenuis Campacci & Vedovello on Flickr - Photo Sharing! ) passing through a muddy green like the above. Some are almost brown. Sometimes markedly spotted, sometimes not. The lips has a characateristic pink color bordering the central lobe, but not always. Sometimes this pink band is narrow, sometimes very broad.
You are right, the only taxonomic relevant difference between C. bicolor and C. tenuis is the presence (always) of two side lobes in C. tenuis. Vegetatively they are identical (I'd say that C. bicolor has still slenderer pseudo bulbs than C. tenuis). Some are so thin that can easily be broken if not handled with care.
As for C. granulosa the things can be put like that: if you put side by side two plants of the same size, one of each species, in 90% of the cases C. tenuis is the one with the slenderer pseudo bulbs and thicker, less pointed leaves.
Hope this can help. If you need anything else, let me know.
BTW, I have a question for you. Upon your experience, does Cattleya jenmanii present the same characteristic C. labiata and warneri have as for the possibility of occurrence of two floral sheaths? Or does it always have single sheath? Thanks in advance.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Thank you for your very useful comments on jenmanii.
Lou's book on labiata is more like a report on field observations Jan Pahl, and as you have noticed not supported by any statistical info on the subject and I am not aware of any other publication she might have done containing it, unfortunately. It would be useful to be able to establish a correlation between each ecosystem and the percentage of occurrence of double/single/no sheaths and other info that could be withdrawn from the data
.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Right! Next Mars the AOSP show is taking place and she most likely will be attending. If I have the chance to meet her I'll ask for the data availability and let you know.
Mauro

Originally Posted by Jan Pahl

I hope someday I will be lucky enough to see Lou data, that data exists at least at her archives, so If you have the chance to meet Lou and ask her, please do that and let me know.

The problem here lest’s say aren’t warneris or labiatas that produce always, most of the time, or even “half and half” double sheath over a period of time, they can't be mistaken with Venezuelan species for sure if the grower take in to account behavior over time. The problem here are the % of warneri and labiata that only sometimes or never produce double sheaths over a period of time.

Lou is a lumpper biologist trying to low the tone and excess of confidence of the splitter majority specially at horticultural level, something that I am 100% with her, but wen she do that, the strong words she use in favor of the relativity of traits can be pretty affected by her epistemological starting point of analysis. For a splitter lets say 5 % is “irrelevant” or almost irrelevant, for a lumpper 5% put “away” the validity of any good trait. It have nothing to do with Lou credibility, it have more to do with the "way" Lou maybe is affected by her own backgrounds wen she use qualitative words to show quantitative paths.

Jan

[Helen]

I just acquired a C. tinuis, which looks like a minature catt.
Anyway in doing some research today, I see that it should have two leaves on a very thin pseudobulb, and mine only has 1 leaf on each. I'm very confused. Of course, as we all know, labels can be misleading! What do all of you think?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Helen

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Helen

I just acquired a C. tinuis, which looks like a minature catt.
Anyway in doing some research today, I see that it should have two leaves on a very thin pseudobulb, and mine only has 1 leaf on each. I'm very confused. Of course, as we all know, labels can be misleading! What do all of you think?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Helen

Helen,
It's not common, but sometimes bifoliate Cattleya develop only one leaf during the first stage of development. Later, when the plant gets higher, two leaves appear normally. I examined your photos and your plant has all the characteristics expected for a bifoliate: the stems are not thickened as it would be expected for a monofoliate, the stems are completely enveloped by a papery sheath, the leaves are narrow and pointed.
So, for me you have a bifoliate that, for some reason, is developing only one leaf for now, but it will have two later.

[Karina]

Hallo Mauro,

thanks for your infos and what a luck for me.
I will buy a C. tenuis, but some of my orchid-friends say, this plant isn't good growing in culture. Now I'm a little bit unsure. In my books I haven't found not enough about the cultivation of this Cattleya.
Have you some more infos for me?

Greetings

Karina

[Helen]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

Helen,
It's not common, but sometimes bifoliate Cattleya develop only one leaf during the first stage of development. Later, when the plant gets higher, two leaves appear normally. I examined your photos and your plant has all the characteristics expected for a bifoliate: the stems are not thickened as it would be expected for a monofoliate, the stems are completely enveloped by a papery sheath, the leaves are narrow and pointed.
So, for me you have a bifoliate that, for some reason, is developing only one leaf for now, but it will have two later.

Thank you Mauro! So basically, it is still a seedling and eventually it will become bifoliate. I heard it gets quite tall. I hope not too tall! Thanks again!
Helen