Cattleya walkeriana, or Walker's cattleya, is a species of orchid. It differs from most species of Cattleya by having inflorescences which arise from the rhizome instead of from the apex of the pseudobulb[nb 1]. In its native habitat (the Brazilian Central Plateau) it grows as either an epiphyte or a lithophyte, sometimes in full sun, at elevations up to 2000 meters[1][nb 2]. Pseudobulbs are relatively short, bulbous or fusiform, with one or two ovate leaves at the apex. Inflorescence is one- or few-flowered, about 8" (20 cm) tall. Flowers are 4-5" (9-12 cm) across.[2][3]

Cattleya walkeriana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Cattleya
Subgenus: Cattleya subg. Intermediae
Species:
C. walkeriana
Binomial name
Cattleya walkeriana
Synonyms
  • Cattleya bulbosa Lindl.
  • Cattleya gardneriana Rchb.f.
  • Cattleya princeps Barb. Rodr.
  • Cattleya walkeriana var. bulbosa (Lindl.) Fowlie
  • Cattleya walkeriana var. princeps L.C. Menezes
  • Epidendrum walkerianum (Gardner)Rchb.f.

Genetically, C. walkeriana is close to bifoliate Cattleyas.[4] The diploid chromosome number of C. walkeriana has been twice determined as 2n = 40; the diploid chromosome number of the variety C. walkeriana var. princeps L.C.Menzes has been determined as 2n = 80.[5]

Notes

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  1. ^ The only other Cattleya species that exhibits this trait is C. nobilior.
  2. ^ In culture some protection from direct sun is needed, as plants not habituated to full sun will readily sunburn.

References

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  1. ^ "Brazilian Orchids - Orchid News 33". www.delfinadearaujo.com.
  2. ^ "IOSPE PHOTOS". www.orchidspecies.com.
  3. ^ I. F. La Croix. The New Encyclopedia of Orchids: 1500 Species in Cultivation (Timber Press, 2008), p.92
  4. ^ Van den Berg, Cassio. "Reaching a compromise between conflicting nuclear and plastid phylogenetic trees: a new classification for the genus Cattleya (Epidendreae; Epidendroideae; Orchidaceae)." Phytotaxa 186.2 (2014): 75-86. [1]
  5. ^ page 251 of L. P. Felix and M. Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163(2010)234—278. The Linnean Society of London. Downloaded October 2010 from onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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