Cattleya × paulae (Orchidaceae—Laeliinae), a new nothospecies from Sempre-Vivas National Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Numerous species of Cattleya ser. Parviflorae often coexist in the same habitat, and hybrids can occur when their flowering seasons overlap or when one species initiates blooming shortly after another. The formation of hybrids will depend on whether the flowers of both species are structurally compatible. Most Cattleya ser. Parviflorae species are saxicolous or rupicolous and grow on granite and gneiss coastal mountains or on rock outcrops of quartzitic iron ore. Sympatric populations of Cattleya rupestris and Cattleya porphyrascens were encountered within the Sempre-Vivas National Park (PNSV), together with a new nothospecies on a rock outcrop it shared with those parent species. This study provides an illustrative plate comparing the labellum of the nothospecies with its parental species, as well as a map indicating its location within the National Park.