Cattleya crispa Cattleya crispa Cattleya crispa is a species of orchid indigenous to the Tijuca Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, noted for its crisped and ruffled petals and lip. It is the type species for both the subgenus "Cattleya" subg. "Crispae" and its section "Cattleya" sect. "Crispae". Prior to 2000, "C. crispa" had long been placed in the genus "Laelia" because it had eight pollinia, instead of the four found in "Cattleya labiata", the type species of the genus "Cattleya". In 2000, the "Brazilian "Laelias"" (including "L. crispa") were transferred to the genus "Sophronitis". In 2008, the entire genus "Sophronitis"
Cattleya labiata plant has a pseudobulb under every leaf to store water and nutritive substances during the short dry season. In the wet season new leaves grow rapidly, producing a large flowered inflorescence. Flowers are white or lavender colored with a darker spot in the lip. Pollination is performed by insects, usually by a scent-collecting male euglossine bee. The result is a capsule with a very large number of seeds (10,000-20,000). The diploid chromosome number of "C. labiata" has been variously determined as 2"n" = 40, 41, and 46. The haploid chromosome number of "C. labiata" has been variously determined as "n"