Cattleya deckeri Klotsch 1855 SUBGENUS Circumvola SECTION Moradae Withner 1989 Photo courtesy of Bill Bergstrom and Berstrom Orchids

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Common Name Decker's Cattleya [German Botanist 1800's]

Flower Size 3 1/2" [8.75 cm]

Found in Panama to Trinidad at elevations of 0 to 900 meters and is the only Cattleya found in both Central and South America on trees along riverbanks and under bushes on rocks with clustered, clavate, flattened pseudobulbs carrying 2 apical, ovate-oblong leaves and blooms in the fall on a to 6" [15 cm] long, erect, several [2 to 8] flowered racemose inflorescence with slightly fragrant flowers. The fall flowering separates it from Cattleya skinneri with which it is often confused.

There is a lot of confusion with this species and C patinii. Kew has this as a syn of C skinneri and C patinii as the South American species. Most other references that I can find have C patinii as a syn of C deckeri so I have left both species separate until more information is available.

Synonyms Cattleya patinii Cogn. 1900; Cattleya skinneri var autumnalis Allen 1942; Cattleya skinneri var parviflora Hkr. 1856; Cattleya skinneri var patinii 1914

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 48. Panama Schlechter 1922; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 134. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 3 1958 drawing; Native Orchids of Trinidad Schultes 1960; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as C skinneri var autumnalis; AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #9 1967; AOS Bulletin Vol 39 No 5 1970; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 3 1970 as C skinneri var patinii; Die Orchideen Liferung #10 577- 632 tafel 10 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 drawing fide; Orchid Digest Vol 37 No 4 1973 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 42 No 2 1978 photo fide; Orquídea (Mexico City). 7(3): 1980 photo fide; The Catttleya and Their Relatives Withner Vol 1 1988 photo fide; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchid Digest Vol 59 No 2 1995 photo fide; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1982; Native Orchids of the Eastern Caribbean Kenny 1988; Orchids of Guatemala and Belize Ames & Correll 1985; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Native Orchids of Colombia Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #10 2016 photo fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV:468 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023 photo fide;

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