C purpurata

[Ozpaph]

This is labelled purpurata Shusteriana fm 'Elderwood'. Any thoughts appreciated about the name (and flower).

 

[monocotman]

Nice flowers but probably not schusteriana. Looks more like a typical form.

 

[Ozpaph]

what is schusteriana?

 

[dodidoki]

Whatever it is, beautiful!!!

 

[NEslipper]

Lovely colors, really striking. Congrats!

 

[big923cattleya]

It might be Cattleya purpurata var. schusteriana ‘Elderwood’. We must really be careful in keeping track of our nomenclature.
Schusteriana is one of the many accepted varieties of Cattleya purpurata. ( Laelia purpurata )
There are others:
Carnea
Werkhauserii
Flammea
Alba
Albescens
Striata
Etc. etc. etc.
There are so many varieties it has become very confusing keeping them all straight. Many varieties, if not all, are based upon a variation in color. In my experience, schusteriana has whiter petals and sepals with a lip colored like yours.
In Brazil, where they are native to, there are dozens of named varieties. I lose my mind in trying to figure out if I can really see differences in many.
I mean carnea has a pink lip, granted. Werkhauserii a darker plum purple lip with a rich lip color that seems darker, almost a blackish purple if you will. Yours has a brighter purple lip.
Some varieties are named because of the different colors shading the sepals and petals. Some have color in the petals, not the sepals, some have color in both, some have color in the sepals. Some varieties have colored veins in the flowers. It can be very, very hard to try and differeniate.
The Elmwood is just a clonal name, not a valid varietal name. Say I have two different schusterianas, one with a fuller lip and one with a normal shaped lip. I might assign each a different clonal name. Which mean nothing except to me. Why? Because out of bloom they look like twins, or they look like all the other purpuratas out there. But in my collection, out of flower, I can tell one from another by the “clonal name” I assigned to them!
I hope I helped you.

 

[big923cattleya]

I decided to throw in this image of what I feel is a typical Cattleya purpurata. Although it seems to have a fairly faint blush to the segments.
To me, this is a purpurata.

 

[My Green Pets]

Beautiful either way!
But wait, after reading that last post... a typical purpurata isn't purple?

 

[big923cattleya]

No it is not.
Basically a crystalline white flower with a colored lip.

 

[Ozpaph]

thank-you.

 

[big923cattleya]

My pleasure.

 

[Guldal]

The Paph-community have over the last decade or so become much more stringent in the use of botanical nomenclatura. One could wish the same would happen for the Catt-people.

What are described as "varieties" of Catt. purpurata wouldn't be perceived like that in the eyes of Paphiopedilist. As there are no morphological differences between these "varieties", they really don't qualify as such. What they are, are different colourforms of the same variety, properly designated 'forma', abbr. 'fma': fma. striata, fma. werkhauseri, fma. sanguinea, and so forth.

Matters get no less confused, when some growers use, what is a clonal name, and properly should have been designated as such, as a varietal name - or even, as in the case of Stephen's (Ozpah) tag, confuses everything and use the name of the clone 'Elmwood' as designation for a colourform!

Wonderful flower, by the way, Stephen!

 

[richgarrison]

……
Matters get no less confused, when some growers use, what is a clonal name, and properly should have been designated as such, as a varietal name - or even, as in the case of Stephen's (Ozpah) tag, confuses everything and use the name of the clone 'Elmwood' as designation for a colourform!

Wonderful flower, by the way, Stephen!

But this one feels like an easy fix. Just move the ‘fma’ in his text. To end up with. C. purpurata fma shusteriana 'Elderwood'

That’s why we have word processing software .

 

[David B]

Varietals can be very confusing, but from experience, from year to year, blooming is different, as the depth and intensity of color saturation and distinctness of striations can increase or decrease influenced by the environment. I grow all 3 varieties, werkhauseri, werkhauseri striata and schusteriana, and all three plants have such divergent structure substance and tissue coloration that they are readily identifiable when not in bloom. Their growth vigor is also quite different, with the schusteriana being more prolific but also more reluctant to bloom.