Cattleya aclandiae

[Dorsetman]

Withner, in "Cattleyas and their allies " the 7 volume book which is one of the best I know for understanding all the laelia group, calls it Lady Acklands cattleya. This goes back to a period ome 170 years ago, when the large flowered cattleyas were being discovered and brought to Europe; it was thought that they were all one species, with merely local variations, so they were identified by the names of the owners - after all there were not many plants here, only penny numbers. The days of the big collectors stripping a locality, or the much later days of either seed raising or meristemming, were far in the future. So it was Lady Acklands cattleya, Mrs Moss's cattleya ( C.mossiae ), Baron Schroder's cattleya ( C.schroderae) etc.

This is a first ever for me - the first time I have successfully raised a seedling of this particular species to flower - if you raise your eyebrows at that, remember this is England ; a cool temperate country , not a lot of cattleyas about here ( I doubt if there is any one trader who can actually offer more than the odd plant so everything has to be bought from the South American firms when they come to one or other of perhaps two shows a year ) and not the easiest orchids to grow here.
My plant is in S/H - using Hydroton baked clay pebbles , and has been there for a year since being rescued, rootless, from soggy compost in the area below my vandas.

I am delighted with it - don't bother to tell me it "ought" to have two or three flowers, I still think its lovely. So there !

[Halloamey]

That is a very beautiful example, I think Lady Ackland would have been proud of this one

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Lovely spotted cattleya orchid flower, Geoff. Such an elegant orchid flower.

cheers,
BD