Help identify Cattleya species. Mendelii??? - Orchid Board

jcaesar · #1 03-02-2009, 11:35 AM

Hi! This is one of my lost tag orchids that I'm trying to identify. It just opened up (3/1). I think it's C. mendelii based on the bloom time and the picture in the Withner text. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate any help identifying this orchid. I'm not really good with the labiate Catts.

Virgil · #2 03-02-2009, 08:07 PM

My mendelii is in sheath and it is on the new growth, I have not seen this flower, I got the plant last year around Sept. I hope I have what I bought, I got it from a orchid grower that has had these plants for 30 years. As soon as it blooms I will show it for sure.

jcaesar · #3 03-03-2009, 08:30 AM

Hi Jan. Thanks for the input. I attached another picture showing the flowering habit. It bloomed from the lead growth...the spathe not quite dry. I get most of my species from growers who come up from South America for the shows in Miami. I only buy species, but of course the plants could be mislabeled when I bought them. I'm pretty sure this plant came from a dealer from Colombia, possibly Venezuela. I buy a lot of Catts from that area. Does the latest picture help?

jcaesar · #4 03-03-2009, 12:05 PM

[QUOTE=Can you post please a picture of the pseudobulb please
QUOTE]
Hi Jan. I'll take a picture of the pseudobulb later today and post it tomorrow. I liked your advice about determining "what a plant is not" and going from there. I did that eliminating trianaei, quadricolor & perciviliana as all of mine had finished blooming last month. Jenmanii, labiata & mendelii give me the biggest headache because they are so similar. I plan to do breeding with Catt species and want to be absolutely sure of the plants I'm working with. I am now making it a habit to wire the tags to the plants...lost a lot during the last hurricane...luckily, most of my plants are Catt species and the few hybrids I have are very obvious. I really appreciate your input on the board. (You really should write a book on the subject). There's a lot of misinformation floating around out there, especially with the labiate group.
Tim.

jcaesar · #5 03-04-2009, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan Pahl

well Tim, right know I am lets say 98% sure your plant is mendelii, and with the pictures I ask you, I am going to be 99% sure...

Hi Jan. Here's the picts of the pseudobulbs. The plant is kind of small and growing low in the pot, so it's not easy to get a good shot of it. I'll take your advice and not use it for breeding. I have another mendelii, properly labeled, that I got from Amazonia Orchids, so there's a better chance of it being a true mendelii. Its in bud now. Thanks again for your input. You are a great source of information on the labiate Catts as you get to study them at the source. You are lucky! The orchids we find in south Florida are not nearly as showy.

jcaesar · #6 03-04-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil

My mendelii is in sheath and it is on the new growth

Hi Virgil,

I have another mendelii that has buds starting in it's sheath...did you do the "squeeze test" to see if yours is in bud? Post picts when it blooms!
Tim.

Virgil · #7 03-04-2009, 07:34 PM

I did the squeeze test plus I can see it looks like there is going to be two flowers.