Cattleya alaorii

Cattleya alaorii, commonly known as the Laelia alaorii, is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil (Bahia).

Alaor's Cattleya
Flowers of Cattleya alaorii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Asparagales
Family:
Orchidaceae
Subfamily:
Epidendroideae
Tribe:
Epidendreae
Subtribe:
Laeliinae
Genus:
Cattleya
Subgenus:
C. subg. Crispae
Section:
C. sect. Hadrolaelia
Species:
C. alaorii
Binomial name
Cattleya alaorii
(Brieger & Bicalho) Van den Berg
Synonyms
  • Laelia alaorii Brieger & Bicalho
  • Sophronitis alaorii Brieger & Bicalho (Van den Berg) & M.W.Chase
  • Hadrolaelia alaorii (Brieger & Bicalho) Chiron & V.P.Castro

The species was named after Mr. Alaor Oliveira, former employee at the University of São Paulo at Piracicaba, who first collected this species in a field excursion in the late 1960s.

Distribution

It was discovered in the 1970s in an isolated mountain chain near Itabuna, Bahia state. It grows in the very wet Bahia coastal forests ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest biome (Mata Atlantica Brasileira). It is found in rainforests at about 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level.

The plants are epiphytes in tall trees up to 40 metres (130 ft) high, and grow in the top branches where they get a fair amount of light. Their environment is always foggy and minimum temperatures in winter are never less than 15 °C (59 °F).

See also
  • Flora of Atlantic Forest (biome)
  • Endemic orchids of Brazil
  • Orchids of Bahia

References
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