Cattleya walkeriana Cattleya walkeriana Cattleya walkeriana (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. In its native habitat (Brazilian Central Plateau) it grows as either an epiphyte or a lithophyte, sometimes in full sun. Pseudobulbs are relatively short, bulbous or fusiform, with one or two ovate leaves at the apex. Inflorescence is one- or few-flowered, about 8" (20 cm) tall. Flowers are 4-5" (9-12 cm) across. Genetically "C. walkeriana" is close to bifoliate Cattleyas. The diploid chromosome number of "C.
Flowering plant be a common source of speciation in general, especially when it comes to radical adaptations that seem to have required inferior transitional forms. Flowering plants may have evolved in an isolated setting like an island or island chain, where the plants bearing them were able to develop a highly specialized relationship with some specific animal (a wasp, for example). Such a relationship, with a hypothetical wasp carrying pollen from one plant to another much the way fig wasps do today, could result in the development of a high degree of specialization in both the plant(s) and their partners. Note that