Cattleya tigrina (syn: leopoldii)

Cattleya guttata subvar. immaculata, Rchb.f. 1886
Cattleya guttata var. leopardina, L.Linden & Rodigas 1885
Cattleya guttata var. leopoldii, (Verschaff. ex Lem.) Linden & Rchb.f. 1860
Cattleya guttata var. purpurea, Cogn.1900
Cattleya guttata var. williamsiana, Rchb.f. 1884
Cattleya leopoldii, Versch. 1854
Cattleya leopoldii f. alba, (Fowlie) F.Barros & J.A.N.Bat. 2004
Cattleya leopoldii f. caerulea, (L.C.Menezes) F.Barros & J.A.N.Bat. 2004
Cattleya leopoldii f. immaculata, (Rchb.f.) M.Wolff & O.Gruss 2007
Cattleya leopoldii var. alba, Fowlie 1964
Cattleya leopoldii var. immaculata, (Rchb.f.) Fowlie 1977
Cattleya leopoldii var. leopardina, (L.Linden & Rodigas) Fowlie 1964;
Cattleya leopoldii var. purpurea Cogn. 1900
Cattleya leopoldii var. williamsiana, (Rchb.f.) Fowlie 1964
Cattleya tigrina var. caerulea, L.C.Menezes 1993
Cattleya tigrina var. immaculata, (Rchb.f.) Braem 1984
Cattleya tigrina var. leopardina, (L.Linden & Rodigas) Braem 1984
Cattleya tigrina var. purpurea, (Cogn.) Braem 1984
Cattleya tigrina var. williamsiana, (Rchb.f.) Braem 1984
Epidendrum elatius var. leopoldii, (Verschaff. ex Lem.) Rchb.f. 1862
Epidendrum elegans, Vell. 1831;

tigrina = spotted like a cat of prey, like a tiger

Cattleya tigrina grows epiphytically, occasionally terrestrially or lithophytically in coastal forests below 100 metres in southern Brazil

Cattleya tigrina belongs to the bifoliate (two-leaved) Cattleya family and can grow to over 1.2 metres in height. The inflorescence is terminal on the pseudobulb, the flowers are vigorously waxy and can remain in bloom for over 4 weeks.

Cattleya tigrina has a very interesting nomenclatural history. Cattleya guttata was discovered a few years earlier (1831) and very quickly found its way into the culture. Cattleya trigina is distinguished by its darker flower and was long treated as Cattleya guttata var. leopoldii. The name Cattleya tigrina had long been forgotten. In the 1980s, Achille Richard's (french botanist, 1794-1852) original description of Cattleya tigrina was rediscovered and the new name was propagated as the new and only valid name. The naming was also very controversial in the years that followed, as many unspotted flowering plants were also collected.

In 2014, Cassio van Berg published the thesis that modern genetic analyses have confirmed many Cattleya species being natural hybrids. According to genetic analyses, Cattleya tigrina is a natural hybrid of C. guttata with Cattleya bicolor, and Cattleya bicolor var. minasgeraiensis in particular is said to occur geographically close to C. guttata in nature.