Cattleya labiata

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Cattleya labiata Lindl., also known as the Crimson Cattleya or Ruby-lipped Cattleya, is a species of Cattleya genus. It was found in 1818 in Brazil, and was the first species of cattleya discovered.This plant grows in the part of northeast of Brazil, in states Pernambuco and Alagoas, and plants are with different sized, those are growing in Pernambuco are little, with little flowers, but coloured, most of them lila, just the inferior part of the flower is a darkish lila, and plants from Alagoas are bigger, and with big flowers, with some varietes, like is Cattleya labiata var.semialba,with big flowers white and a little spot of yellow, is another variety of semialba, but with lila in the inferior part of the flower,This plant is an epiphite, growing up in trees, where is much light, of course are manny places where this plant could grows on direct tough rock, almost without soil.The plant itself is a medium sized orchid, with a medium rhizom, and on the rizhom long leaves, with a tough consistence, because of aridity in the cannopy of trees, but of course because of a short dry season.For water the plant has for every leaf, a pseudobulb with water and nutritive substances, used in the latent season of the plant.In the wet season, are growing on the plant new leaves, everyone double with a little inflorescence,but with big flowers, white coloured and with a spot lila in middle of the flower, where is placed the polinia and ovarum.Polination is made by insects, a kind of green bees, and the fruit is a siliqua with a huge number of seeds(10000-20000).For indoors, the native plant is innapropriate, because under the influence of artificial light it doesn't make flowers.