Cattleya tigrina.

This post involves a double discovery for me. I saw a label marked "Cattleya tigrina", but not the plant it belonged to- as I liked the name (the tigery "tigrina" suggested it must be an impressive thing), I thought I'd research it online at home. I adore wildlife, but I had never known there to be one called the tigrina! It is a small & elegant spotted wild cat of South America ~ the plant is perhaps less beautiful, but equally striking.

Cattleya tigrina.
(Rhizomatous perennial.)

Planting: July. Roots need air, large "media" is preferred to soil.
Flowering: May to June.
Aspect: Sun (not too intensive), in a six to nine inch pot.
Hardiness: Indoor plant.

Notes: Since even the Victorian era, the classification of this plant has been cause of fervent debate - it has been named and renamed, at one point named after King Leopold I of Belgium, Catteleya leopoldii.