Orchids in Spring is back at the Rio Botanical Garden, celebrating Brazilian Cattleyas

The exhibition that has been enchanting Rio residents and visitors for almost two decades is back! For three days, the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Orchid House will host the renowned “Orchids in Spring” exhibition, a diverse and colorful display of plants that, after two years, is once again part of the city's cultural agenda. Starting on October 31 and continuing on November 1 and 2, the event, organized by OrquidaRio Orquidófilos Associados, offers lectures on cultivation, a botanical illustration workshop, orchid sales stands, and SOS, which provides guidance on care and diseases. 

The theme of this edition of the event is “Brazilian Cattleya species.” Since the opening of the ports in the early 19th century, numerous reports and engravings attest to the fascination that the city's exuberant natural landscape held for those who arrived here. At that time, interest in tropical orchids was growing in Europe, and many were sent specifically to search for and collect our beautiful large-flowered species. Cattleya intermedia, Cattleya guttata, and Cattleya forbesii could be found in abundance among the vegetation growing in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, around the lagoons, and in various other parts of the city. The genus Cattleya was established by John Lindley in 1824, in honor of the English horticulturist William Cattley, who cultivated the first flower of this genus on European soil. The exuberance and exoticism of the plant have enchanted collectors ever since.

Today, the genus encompasses species from Central and South America. In Brazil, there are two biomes that are richest in terms of the number of Cattleya species: the Atlantic Forest, with the largest number of species (52), followed closely by the Cerrado (47). As nature always surprises us, the bet is that Cattleya schilleriana and Cattleya warneri will be at the peak of their blooms during the three days of the exhibition.

Cattleya schilleriana stands out for the color of its flowers and occurs in the Atlantic Forest in extremely humid habitats. It has a mild scent, reminiscent of vanilla. Cattleya warneri, which also blooms in the spring, enchants with the largest flowers of its genus, reaching 22 cm in diameter, with two to six flowers per stem. In recent decades, with the growth of our city, many natural environments have disappeared and some native species no longer occur in the municipality. Sharing knowledge and helping to preserve the Orchidaceae family is OrquidaRio's mission in the exhibitions it promotes.

During the event, free workshops on orchid cultivation will be offered, along with a lecture on pest and disease management in orchids and an orchid SOS hotline with an agronomist to answer questions. There will also be a workshop on botanical illustration in watercolor with artist Dulce Nascimento. Registration is available via WhatsApp at (21) 99999-0116.

Admission fees for the Botanical Garden
Visitors residing in Brazil: R$ 40.00 (full price) and R$ 20.00 (half price)
Foreign visitors: R$ 80.00
Children under 5 years old are free. Residents of Brazil over 60 years old, people with disabilities, students, among others, are entitled to half-price admission and pay R$ 20.00.
Payment at the ticket office is cash and pix only. Online tickets are available at jbrj.eleventickets.com with pix or credit card.