Masdevallia pyxis Luer 1978 SUBGENUS Polyanthae SECTION Polyanthae SUBSECTION Polyanthae Rchb.f 1874
Photo courtesy of © Lourens Grobler
Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
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Common Name The Box Masdevallia [refers to the shape of the sepaline tube]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Huanuco department of Peru fully exposed on rocky slopes among scrub vegatation in leaf humus at elevations of 2300 to 2650 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing terrestrial or lithophyte with stout, erect ramicauls enveloped by 2 to 3 loose, tubular sheaths carrying a single, apical, erect, thickly coriaceous, narrowly elliptic-obovate, subacute to obtuse leaf that is gradually narrowed below into a petiole and blooms in the winter on a short, arising from low on the ramicaul with a basal bract, erect, purple spotted, slender, single flowered inflorescence with a loosely, tubular, purple spotted, as long as to shorter than the pedicel flower bract holding the flower below the leaves.
"Distinguished by the box-like flower on peduncles less than half as tall as the leaf. The short-tailed dorsal sepal is yellow while the dark purple lateral sepals are completely connate into a longer, concave synsepal. At the tip of the synsepal two very short tails protrude." Luer 2000
Synonyms Alaticaulia pyxis (Luer) Luer 2006
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Pleurothallidinarum XIX Systematics of Masdevallia Part 1 Luer 2000 drawing fide; Masdevallia's in Kleur Vol 1 P M Oversteegen, Eisses & A P Sijm 2001 photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVIII Luer 2006 as Alaticaulia pyxis; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide;
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