how to differentiate between laelia and cattleya

[Bud]

WOW! I am excited to see the flowers...Mexican orchids from the 70's...

[got ants]

With the new reclassifications, scientifically the only real way is by counting the pollina (8).

Some schombs have moved to laelias, while others to the myrmecophila, and yet others back to catts. So the question then pegs, is was it a laelia to start with?

This might help....

Laelia Lindley 1831 SUBFAMILY Epidendroideae, TRIBE Epidendreae, SUBTRIBE Laeliinae.

Laelia was first described by John Lindley in 1831 and Schlechter revised it in 1917 by dividing the genus to 7 subsections.

1. Cattleyodes- the species that resemble Cattleya yet have 8 pollina such as Laelia purpurata.

2.Hadrolaelia- Have lips with distinctive crests and keels as well as heteroblastic psuedobulbs such as Laelia pumila.

3.Laelia- has homoblastic psuedobulbs such as Laelia speciosa.

4. Microlaelia- same as section 3 except for sepals and petals are of equal size such as Laelia lundii.

5. Cyrtolaelia- they are rupicolious or rock growing and have a narrow lip and the flower color is most often yellow to orange red such as Laelia cinnabarina.

6.Podolaelia- has sheaths and an articulated stem such as Laelia anceps.

7. Calolaelia- has a single species, Laelia superbiens, which has now been moved to Schomburgkia.

...or not..

[weederwoman]

I guess I asked for it, huh? Luckily I have a dear friend who is a horticulturist (former contributing editor for Sunset) who helps us sort out the native garden here.I think he would enjoy trying to help me translate all this info. even though he is not an orchid man. He was a family friend of the original collector, also. I just learned today that the greenhouse was vandalized years ago and many orchids were dumped out in the woods and not found till too late so I don't know how many of the old orchids are still here. Some, I hope.

[orchid-eric]

I just read what Got Ants said.Laelia have 8, Catts. have 4.

[weederwoman]

Is there any way to show the pollinia in a photo? I should have enough flowers that one could be dissected if necessary.

[RobS]

Originally Posted by orchid-eric

I just read what Got Ants said.Laelia have 8, Catts. have 4.

That's actually what the old classification is based on.

The Laelia's are from Mexico and are only distantly related to the other South American species that are now called Cattleya (still I often call them Laelia).

[weederwoman]

The orchid I have been writing about has bloomed. I have posted pictures at site below. Please help me to identify.
Flickr: noble's memory's Photostream

[isurus79]

If this was a species, my guess would be Laelia crispa.

[weederwoman]

why crispa over purpurata

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by weederwoman

why crispa over purpurata

The coloration of the lip, as well as the shape of the lip (narrower, a more pointed tip and ruffled edges) is much more characteristic of crispa than purpurata. Here is a pic of my purpurata that I had before I moved to Texas from Hawaii for comparison:


Laelia purpurata 6-16-2009 by Isurus79, on Flickr

L. crispa flowers are also a bit smaller than purpurata.

---------- Post added at 11:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------

P.S. That is of course, if your plant is actually a species and not a hybrid. A purpurata x crispa hybrid would be tough to tell apart from a crispa just by photos like this. It seems your plant is pretty large too, which makes me wonder if it is only crispa.

---------- Post added at 11:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 AM ----------

P.P.S- Can we get another pic when the flower open more fully?