Cattleya mendelii O Brien 1883 SUBGENUS Cattleya SECTION Cattleya Lindley

Photo by © Jay Pfahl

Drawing of C mendelii var grandiflora

Drawing by © B S Williams

Alba Variety

Photo by © Ernest Hetherington

Cattleya mendelii O Brien 1883 var coerula

Photo by © Jay Pfahl

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Common Name Mendel's Cattleya [English Orchid Enthusiast 1800's]

Flower Size 7" to 8" [17.5 to 20 cm]

Found in Santander department of Colombia on the eastern Cordillera on exposed rock outcroppings and cliffs and Antioquia department on the eastern side of the central cordillera all at elevations around 1300 to 1800 meters as a medium sized, cool to warm growing epiphytic and lithophytic species with cylindrical, grooved, shiny pseudobulbs carrying a single, apical, oblong, round apically, very leathery leaf that blooms in the late spring on a terminal, short, few [2 to 5] flowered, long lived inflorescence with fragrant flowers that open well.

Synonyms Cattleya bluntii H.Low 1876; Cattleya cupidon hort. 1894; Cattleya hackbridgensis auct. 1890; Cattleya labiata var. bella Rchb.f 1882; Cattleya labiata var. mendelii Sanders 1887; Cattleya mendelii f. morganiae (B.S.Williams & T.Moore) M.Wolff & O.Gruss 2007; Cattleya mendelii var. bella (Rchb.f.) B.S.Williams & T.Moore 1886; Cattleya mendelii var. grandiflora B.S.Williams & T.Moore 1882; Cattleya mendelii var. morganae (R.Warner & L.O.Williams) Braem 1986; Cattleya morganiae B.S.Williams & T.Moore 1882

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Fl. Mag. (London), n.s., 1: t. 32 Dombrain 1872;

Gard. Chron., n.s., 5: 735 H Low 1876 as Cattleya bluntii;

Gard. Chron., n.s., 17: 700 Rchb.f 1882 as C labiata var bella;

Orchid Album 1: t. 3 B S Williams and T Moore 1882 as C mendellii var grandiflora;

Orchid Album 1: t. 3 B S Williams and T Moore 1882 as C mendellii var grandiflora drawing fide;

Orchid Album 1: t. 6 B S Williams and T Moore 1882 as C morganiae;

Orchid Album 1: t. 6 B S Williams and T Moore 1882 as C morganiae; drawing fide;

Orchid Album 5: t. 225 B S Williams and T Moore 1886 as C mendelii var bella;

Orchid Album 5: t. 225 B S Williams and T Moore 1886 as C mendelii var bella drawing fide;

Man. Orchid. Pl. 1: 21 A H Kent 1887 as Cattleya labiata var. mendelii;

Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 8: 8 Mast 1890 as C hackenbridgensis;

Lindenia 8/9: 19 L Linden & Rodigas 1894 as C cupidon;

Lindenia 8/9: 19 L Linden & Rodigas 1894 as C cupidon drawing fide;

Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as C labiata var mendelii;

Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as C labiatavar mendelli drawing fide;

Orchids of Malaya Holttum 1957;

AOS Bulletin Vol 39 No 5 1970;

Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 10 576 - 632 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977;

Growing Orchids Vol 2 Rentoul 1982;

Orchid Digest Vol 47 No 5 1983 photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 53 No 12 1984 photo;

The Catttleya and their Relatives Withner Vol 1 1988 photo fide;

Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as C labiata var mendelii;

Orquideologia Vol 15 #1 Luer & Escobar 1981 photo fide;

Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide;

The Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1992 photo fide;

An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992;

Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995;

Orchid Digerst Vol 64 #2 2000 photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 70 No 3 2001 photo fide;

Colombian Cattleyas and their Color Variations Toulemonde 2002;

AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 1 2003 photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 3 2003 photo fide;

Orquideologia Vol. 23 No 1 2004 photo fide;

Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005;

AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 11 2006 as C mendelii var coerula photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 11 2006 photo;

AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 12 2006 photo fide;

Orquideologia Vol 25 #1 2007 photo fide;

Orquideologia Vol 25 #1 2007 as C mendelii var alba photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 4 2007 photo fide;

Libro Rojo de Plantas De Colombia Vol 6 Primera Parte Saenz 2007 photo fide;

Orchid. Atlas: 65 Wolfe & Gruss 2007 as C mendelii var morganiae;

Orquideología Vol 26 #2 2009 photo fide;

Orchid Digest Vol 73 #1 2009 drawing fide;

Orquideologia Vol 27 #2 2010 photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 79 #2 2010 photo fide;

Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 photo fide;

Orchid Digest Vol 79 #4 2015 photo fide;

AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #4 2016 photo fide;

Orchid Digest Vol 82 #3 2018 photo fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV: 483 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023

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