Cattleya walkeriana

{{Short description|Species of orchid}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Cattleya walkeriana.jpg

| genus = Cattleya

| parent = Cattleya subg. Intermediae

| species = walkeriana

| authority = Gardner

| synonyms =

• Cattleya bulbosa Lindl.
• Cattleya gardneriana Rchb.f.
• Cattleya princeps Barb. Rodr.
• Cattleya walkeriana var. bulbosa (Lindl.) Fowlie
• Cattleya walkeriana var. princeps L.C. Menezes
• Epidendrum walkerianum (Gardner)Rchb.f.

}}

Cattleya walkeriana, or Walker's cattleya, is a species of orchid. It differs from most species of Cattleya by having inflorescences which arise from the rhizome instead of from the apex of the pseudobulb{{refn|group=nb|The only other Cattleya species that exhibits this trait is C. nobilior.}}. In its native habitat (the Brazilian Central Plateau) it grows as either an epiphyte or a lithophyte, sometimes in full sun, at elevations up to 2000 meters{{cite web|url=http://www.delfinadearaujo.com/on/on33/pages/habitateng.htm|title=Brazilian Orchids - Orchid News 33|website=www.delfinadearaujo.com}}{{refn|group=nb|In culture some protection from direct sun is needed, as plants not habituated to full sun will readily sunburn.}}. Pseudobulbs are relatively short, bulbous or fusiform, with one or two ovate leaves at the apex. Inflorescence is one- or few-flowered, about {{convert|8|in|cm|abbr=on}} tall. Flowers are {{convert|4|-|5|in|cm|abbr=on}} across.{{cite web|url=http://www.orchidspecies.com/catleyawalkeriana.htm|title=IOSPE PHOTOS|website=www.orchidspecies.com}}I. F. La Croix. The New Encyclopedia of Orchids: 1500 Species in Cultivation (Timber Press, 2008), p.92

Genetically, C. walkeriana is close to bifoliate Cattleyas.Van den Berg, Cassio. "Reaching a compromise between conflicting nuclear and plastid phylogenetic trees: a new classification for the genus Cattleya (Epidendreae; Epidendroideae; Orchidaceae)." Phytotaxa 186.2 (2014): 75-86. [http://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.186.2.2/10616] The diploid chromosome number of C. walkeriana has been twice determined as 2n = 40; the diploid chromosome number of the variety C. walkeriana var. princeps L.C.Menzes has been determined as 2n = 80.page 251 of L. P. Felix and M. Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163(2010)234—278. The Linnean Society of London. Downloaded October 2010 from [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2010.01059.x/abstract onlinelibrary.wiley.com]