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Cattleya eldorado
Cattleya eldorado is one of the species of the C.
labiata group. Although the group
is widespread in Colombia and Venezuela, there are just a few species in Brazil, only 3 or 4 depending if one considers
Cattleya luteola as part of the group. Although Cattleya labiata
and C. warneri are very similar between them and to some other species
in the group, C. eldorado is very distinctive and easily separated in the group.
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Distribution Map of Cattleya eldorado.
Notice its very limited spread. The species may occur out of the marked area, but in very small quantities.
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In terms of morphology, the plants are very distinctive.
They are somewhat compact and have a very rustic appearance with hard pseudobulbs and leaves with flattened and
rough surfaces. The flowers usually have petals with strong midribs and sepals with reflexed borders at their basal
half. The lateral sepals also tend to be strongly convergent, sometimes almost parallel. The lip has a somewhat
fringed border. Colorwise, the flowers are basically light to medium pink and the lip has a darker lavender front
lobe. There is a lot of variation on the amount and intensity of this lavender color. Despite this variation, an
unique and always present feature of Cattleya
eldorado flowers is the golden yellow-orange
inside the tube. Even the albinos, with their pure white flowers, have this intense golden-yellow color inside
the lip. The flowers are usually smaller than the ones in Cattleya labiata,
and have a very distinctive and pleasant fragrance. Flowering season is not very well marked and varies from year
to year. Usually there is a blooming peak around November and a second, more intense blooming period between January
and March. The blooming season seems to be strongly influenced by rainfall.
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Cattleya eldorado in the habitat. One can observe that the plant is growing close to the ground, something
possible due to the fact that light can pass with high intensity through the open vegetation. Color form shown
is a not very typical near-concolor.
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Cattleya eldorado has a somewhat restricted distribution area, being found
only in the Central Amazon near Manaus. It is found on big tall trees at the margins of small river (igarapés)
but it is really abundant in the more or less open vegetation that grows on sandy soil patches (these are called
Campinas). The species has been subject to a lot of pressure by collecting and the rampant destruction of their
habitat.
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Very dark and striking form of Cattleya eldorado, one of the nicest ever found. It is also one of the very few where the purple color encircles
the whole lip.
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Photo: Kleber G. de Lacerda
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