Catasetum pileatum Rchb. f. - syn. Catasetum bungerothii N.E. Br. - Orchidaceae - felt-capped Catasetum, Mother of Pearl Flower

Epiphytic orchid, native to Venezuela, Brazil and Trinidad; pseudobulbs fusiform-ovoid; male pendulous inflorescence up to 40cm long; flowers 4-10, up to 9cm in diameter, fragrant.

This large-flowered orchid was the national flower of Venezuela until 1951, when it was changed to Cattleya mossiae var wagnerii. [[https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catasetum_pileatum]]

Carvone (10.7%) and carvon oxide (22.3%) were present in C.pileatum floral fragrance, as well as in many Catasetum species like eg. C.discolor (12.6%; 30.6% resp.), C.longifolium (15.2%; 36.0% resp.), C.integerrimum (9.0%; 41.1% resp.), C.macroglossum (4.5%; 40.9% resp.), C.tabulare (5.2%; 65.8% resp.), and C.viridiflavum (10.0%; 57.0% resp.). \\
[Carvone oxide: an example of convergent evolution in euglossine pollinated plants., Whitten, W. Mark, et al., Systematic Botany, 1986, 222-228]

The emitted caraway-like scent of the flowers is characteristic of many Catasetum species and formed by carvone (1.5%) and derivatives, particularly [[http://www.leffingwell.com/chirality/carvone_epoxide.htm|trans-carvone epoxide]] (71.0%). \\
[The scent of orchids: olfactory and chemical investigations., Kaiser, R., Elsevier Science Publishers BV., 1993, 82-83 and 201]


{{:catasetum-imperiale.jpg?600}} \\
Catasetum pileatum var. imperiale as Catasetum imperiale \\
Lindenia, Iconography of orchids [E. von Lindemann], vol.9 t.460 (1894) \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=212695]]