C. lueddemanniana 'Cerro Verde' - Orchid Board

euplusia · #1 07-09-2014, 04:03 PM

Last year I was able to obtain two plants from separate sources, but possibly divisions of the same plant. The tag says "Cattleya lueddemanniana semialba 'Cerro Verde'.
Obviously it is a splashed semialba. However the coloration of the splashes on petals and sepals varies a bit from the intensity on photos of the rare original clone, so eventually it might be the result of a selfing.
In addition I want to refer to the thread of palm521 here, who claims that 'Cerro Verde' is most likely a natural hybrid of lueddemanniana with gigas/warscewiczii, a it lacks the horns of the column.
But away from scientific considerations both are great plants with stunning flowers and a scent to fall in love with.

silken · #2 07-09-2014, 05:40 PM

Gorgeous and great growing. I have a pink lueddemanniana and I just love it.

WhiteRabbit · #3 07-09-2014, 08:35 PM

Beautiful!

palm521 · #4 07-09-2014, 11:30 PM

hi euplusia.

before anything beautiful orchid, but in my opinion (and also the same opinion of every single expert i know in Venezuela cattleyas in Venezuela) THIS IS NOT a pure luddemanianna. one of the most important features of C. lueddemanianna is the presence of the winged tip on the column, also called "Horns". there isn't any secret location were a population of lueddemanianna without horns exist. and i have been lurking on that topic with dozens of venezuelan cattleya experts every single one of them said the same.

please be so kind to take a picture of the column. and share it with us.

you might want to know that this plant is completely banned from judging in venezuela orchid shows as a species. (since several years ago) it gets disqualified, if it is presented as lueddemaniana. so you get the idea how this plant is perceived in venezuela by the judges and experts.

cerro verde being a natural hybrid? well not possible either. as lueddemaniana is from the venezuelan coast , and the C. gigas is from colombia, there isn't any recorded natural hybrid between the two. in my opinion there is no doubt that this is man made. if my opinions on my post (due to my not so good english) were understood as this plant being a possible natural hybrid, then apologies, that is not what i meant.

according to the rumor mill, cerro verde is a plant that came as a division of the original stanleyi bought in the states , and when it bloomed it was something else, then the cerro verde clonal name was born. from everthing i have said , this is the only thing i cant prove, as it is the story that the cattleya expert Carlos Keller (brasil) said in an open email group several years ago.

did the plant came from wild, or collected? in my opinion not possible, Mr Mantellini claims there is a group of "pure" lueddemanianas without "horns" or those "horns" being far smaller than normal. i went around and asked if there were such cases, and the response i got was not true. there isnt one pure lueddemaniana without the winged tip on the column PERIOD.

Henrique Graf did a sib cross of this plant, feel free to contact him and ask for his findings.

Thanks for sharing.

isurus79 · #5 07-12-2014, 08:35 AM

Beautiful flowers! I'd also love to see the smaller horns on this too, if you get the chance.

Antonio, this is good information too. Thank you for presenting it!

RosieC · #6 07-14-2014, 03:31 PM

It's gorgeous!

euplusia · #7 07-19-2014, 04:17 AM

I have introduced this plant here as 'lueddemanniana Cerro Verde', because these plants are known worldwide under this name, whether right or wrong.
If I had used the name 'Cattleya Carmen Cerro Verde', nobody knew what it is. The hybrid of C. lueddemanniana x C. warscewiczii was registered for Veitch in 1905.
My plants were bought by friends years back in a German nursery (and not during a visit at Enrique Graf's home).
At our last local meeting people agreed that it should not be considered a pure lueddemanniana.
But as for the wings and horns, well - decide for yourself. I've done my best to take clear pictures of the column of both plants.

palm521 · #8 07-19-2014, 11:15 AM

euplusia :

so that we can compare i have added a typical Lueddemanianna column for comparison,

i do appreciate that you took the time to take the pictures, and it seems it had some kind of modified winged tip , there are differences that are easy to spot, and SHOULD not be present, as any single pure lueddemaniana has the exact same winged tip.

as for the purity, i believe it is not pure, same opinion as any venezuelan cattleya expert that i know of . if there is still people that wants to believe in the purity of this plant, by all means, who am i to say otherwise, what i did is to provide my opinion and the opinions of others in here (as this is a discussion forum), and plain facts as what is happening in Venezuela, and the judges with that plant in particular.

Antonio.