Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds (1871) is an oil on mahogany panel picture by Martin Johnson Heade acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 1982. Inspired perhaps by the works of Charles Darwin and Frederic Edwin Church, Heade planned to produce a deluxe book in the 1860s depicting Brazilian hummingbirds in tropical settings, and, to that end, created a series of 40 small pictures called "The Gems of Brazil". The project was abandoned, but Heade retained his interest in hummingbirds and continued to paint them in combination with orchids and jungle backgrounds through the
Cattleya rex La Paz in Bolivia. It occurs in montane forests and low montane seasonally dry forests at 800–2500 m, growing on tree branches. In its native habitat, flowering occurs between December and March. "Cattleya rex" has been assigned an endangered conservation status in 1997 by the IUCN. Previously believed to be a Peruvian endemic, in 2013 a new locality was reported in Bolivia, thus increasing the area of extension for the species. "C. rex" requires a temperate climate (in winter, artificial heating set at 16 °C at night and 18 °C during the day is recommended) and good ventilation (a dark