Cattleya aurantiaca

Cattleya aurantiaca is found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica at elevations of 300 to 1600 meters in tropical and lower mountain rain forests on exposed rocks, or on trees in areas of extreme heat and cold as a stout, small to medium sized, hot to cool growing epiphytic and occasional lithophytic species is with elongate, cylindric-fusiform, lightly compressed pseudobulbs carrying 2, apical, coriaceous, fleshy, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate leaves with a rounded, retuse apex that flowers from late winter through spring on a terminal, 16 cm long, few to many [2 to 11] flowered, umbelliform inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb.

This plant's flowers are the smallest in the genus and northern populations can self-pollinate which causes the flowers to not open fully. This species and C. skinneri naturally hybrid to create C. guatemalensis.