Sophronitis acuensis

There are a number of species in the genus, Sophronitis (now reclassified as Cattleya). They are all from Brazil and are some of the most desirable or orchids for their bright red and orange colors and for their potential in hybridizing. They are not the easiest plants to grow, however, preferring cooler temperatures and good light. This is one of the smaller species, though it has very large flowers for the size of the plant. The photo illustrates another feature of some of these species also: the flowers increase dramatically in size after opening, often doubling their size, as is evident from the two flowers in this photo, one recently opened and still much smaller than the other flower.