When most of us think about an orchid, the beautiful cattleya is what comes to mind. Whether we think about the days when it was customary to give a young lady a corsage, or when we see a beautiful floral wreath with cattleyas, even the layperson will recognize the cattleya as a beautiful orchid.

Cattleyas are truly the queen of orchids. Very few orchids can match their size, magnificent colors and their intoxicating fragrance. It is no surprise that throughout history the cattleya orchid has delighted many an orchid enthusiast.

In fact, the plant itself is named after William Cattley, a horticulturalist from Barnet, England, who was the first to flower the orchid back in 1818. The story is, he was unpacking other plant materials collected by naturalist William Swainson, who was collecting other types of plants in the uncharted jungles of northern Brazil.

Cattley found these curious-looking bulbous stems, which were said to be used as packing materials for the other plants. He potted them up, and in November beautiful, fragrant lavender flowers appeared.

A year later, the Glasgow Botanical Gardens in Scotland, which also received some plants from Swainson, flowered a few specimens.

It was there that botanist John Lindley wrote a description of this orchid in his book, "Collectanea Botanica," published in 1821. The orchid was named Cattleya labiata. With the stroke of Lindley's pen, William Cattley was immortalized in orchid history.

Cattley's find changed the flower world. Expeditions scoured the globe and entire forests were stripped of millions of orchids, making many species endangered. Some species sold for thousands of dollars and signaled the start of the orchid craze. Today, many orchids are prohibited from being collected and are cultivated by commercial and hobbyist growers by seed or tissue (meristem) culture.

Through cross-pollination, orchid breeders have made wonderful improvements to the cattleya flowers, breeding the orchid to produce bright, colorful blooms on compact-growing plants that will flower more than once a year. Best of all, they are available for everyone to enjoy.

One of the best places to see cattleyas year-round is Foster Botanical Garden.

You also can get an eyeful this weekend at the Blaisdell Center, where the Honolulu Orchid Society will have its annual show, Masquerade of Orchids.

This is peak season for cattleyas, and they will be one of the main highlights in our last and largest orchid show of the year.