| A native of the tropic Americas, the cattleyas are a pseudobulb type and considered an orchid with training wheels. |
| They display ribboned, alternate and sheathing leaves, that meet to form a pseudobulb that acts as water reserve. |
| Most species have a single leaf per pseudobulb. |
| All observations on the pseudobulb should be made on the flowering pseudobulb. |
| The plants branch sympodially, producing large, flattened, bifoliate pseudobulbs and lateral, solitary flowers on long pedicels, numbering one to six per pseudobulb. |
| The pseudobulb has a smooth surface with lengthwise grooves, and can have different shapes, often conical or oblong. |
