Cattleya rex O’Brian
From South America come several yellow Cattleyas, large and small. The three with the largest, showiest flowers are C. dowiana from Costa Rica, C. dowiana var. aurea from Colombia and C. rex from two places (Moyobamba and Ayacucho) in Peru. This last species was flowered for the first time (in Europe) in Brussels and immediately described in 1894. It has, like the other two, one leaf per pseudobulb (unifoliate). The flowers are pale yellow or cream – you might call them ivory or soft gold. The lip is deep crimson with golden veins and white ruffles. In its native climate, which is extremely hot and sunny (as well as humid during the rainy season), C. rex can have up to 12 flowers per stem. In a cooler environment, you will get fewer or no flowers on the pseudobulb. I noticed that this Cattleya has a delightful scent during the day. One important thing to remember is that it needs a definite rest during the winter.
 Cattleya rex |
How was it discovered? A very knowledgeable orchid hunter, Eric Bungeroth had amassed a good fortune by re-finding and selling large numbers of the prized C. labiata. He felt that after collecting in the Eastern parts of South America, he might find similar plants in similar climates farther West. So he furnished an expedition and left England in May 1892 to test his theory. In July of that year, he set up camp in an Indian village in the area of Moyobamba where he proceeded to teach the Indians what and how to collect the plants he was looking for. Among other orchids, he also obtained this new Cattleya, which he called C. rex (King’s Cattleya). Because the rainy season was fast approaching, he hurried the Indians along almost non-existing trails in order to get his cargo to the Amazon River for shipping to England. During the trek, he watched and worried over the plants, checking every day for decaying matter, trying to keep the orchids healthy. The living conditions were difficult beyond description, he suffered from malaria and the beginning rains brought with them myriads of insects. It was particularly the ants which made even the Indians very uncomfortable.
Eventually, the precious boxes were stowed on board a ship and were carried in a 20 day voyage to Liverpool, where they arrived in November 1892 and were safely stored in the dock warehouse so the invited public could come and purchase the newly arrived treasures. But November in England can be very, very cold! On the morning of the great sale, the buyers from England, Belgium, France and Germany arrived at the Liverpool dockside and found Bungeroth in desperation. During the night the priceless plants over which he had laboured so meticulously had been frozen black! Deep inside some boxes, some orchids were still alive, but Bungeroth’s dreams of fortunes were gone, leaving him a sick, poor and bitter man.
Cattleya rex is still a rare plant, to this day. It has a small area of distribution and lives on tall, old trees which the loggers prize – to cut down, never caring about the orchids they destroy in their ravaging harvest of timber. Seedlings of C. rex are never found on shorter, young trees. Some local collectors sell salvaged specimens in the public markets. Fortunately, some local nurseries have started to propagate orchids artificially. Still, if you ever come across these royal Cattleyas, treat them with respect. Admire them and appreciate their beauty. But please, do not let your orchids freeze.
Ingrid Schmidt-Ostrander - Canadian Orchid Congress