Cattleya (Guariantha) aurantiaca
 

I have been living in Costa Rica for the winters for three years now. I've never done much with Catts as they were too big for indoor growing in the northeastern US. Yesterday at the Feria (Farmers Market) I saw this lovely compact Catt and couldn't resist. The woman who was selling it was a little vague about the species identification so I want to be sure it is C aurantiaca. Thoughts?

Yes! Nice bright orange one.

It sure is pretty and it looks a lot like aurantiaca but, heads up, aurantiaca tends to get somewhat tall/large. Most that I've seen are in the 15" range...some a bit bigger and some a wee bit shorter. Not large like some catts but certainly not what I would consider compact.

Either way, it's beautiful and I probably would've scooped it up too. I love that bright color.

I thought they were bigger, too, which is probably why I questioned the ID. It is about 8-9".
One problem in Costa Rica is that it is rare to find a plant with a clonal name- you're lucky if it is ID'd to species. But, for 5000 colones (a bit less than $10) I'm not complaining.
Next month I hope to be clerking at the annual Costa Rica Orchid Show. I suspect I will come home with a few new chids.

I saw a small one growing wild in Oaxaca, Mexico, that was only 8"-9" tall, so they are out there. I have the photos somewhere. I'll post if I find them.

Well, there is no other known species it could be, so unless you have the only known specimen of a new species or natural hybrid closely related to Gur. aurantiaca, or the lady at the Feria was selling complex hybrids, this is Gur. aurantiaca. It is a much more variable species in all traits than most people realize. It appears to be a first bloom seedling so I wouldn't be surprised if it doubled in size in the next couple years.

Gosh, it's beautiful! Great find!

Great find!

Indeed it is lovely. I have one that's going to open any day now. It is a first bloom seedling I got from SVO, it's right now only 6 inches tall and it's a spotted one or at least suppose to be. I will soon find out. Then I will get a picture of it.

Also my leaves look shorter and wider than yours does. Your leaves look way more pointy.