Cattleya walkeriana 'The Chairman' AM/AOS

[Anglo]

This is the first bloom of a division of ‘The Chairman’ that I got on ebay in August. The picture was taken on the morning after the flower opened. Its pigmentation was more saturated and more uniformly developed the next day after that, but I didn’t take any more pictures. The flower wasn’t displaying too well because it had opened between two leaves. The petal on the right (as viewed) was making contact with a leaf, and had been pushed further forward.

This cultivar is unusually large for the species. The leaves on the division range from 4 to just under 6 inches long and are correspondingly broad. The length of the pseudobulbs, not counting the leaves, are from 3 to 5 inches long. The flower is 4 ½ inches across and has a very heavy substance.