Masdevallia fuchsii Luer 1978 SUBGENUS Masdevallia SECTION Masdevallia SUBSECTION Saltatrices [Rchb.f] Luer 1986
Photo courtesy of Eric Hunt
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
Common Name Fuchs' Masdevallia [Fred Fuchs, Florida Orchid Nurseryman late 1900's]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in central Peru in cloud forests at elevations of 1400 to 1700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with slender, erect, ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a sungle, apical, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptic-obovate, petiolate leaf that basally gradually narrows into the slender petiole and blooms at most any time of the year on a slender, suberect, 1 3/5" to 1 3/4" [4 to 4.5 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence that arises from low on the ramicaul, with a bract near the base and a tubular floral bract.
This species is very similar to M constricta yet differs in the small flower size and shorter tails, the sepaline tube apex is broadly expanded and 1/2 as long as the tube itself while in M constricta the tube is longer than the expanded free part.
Also said to be synomonous with M saulii but I have left them separate for now.
"Differs from M calosiphon by the broadly expanded apex of the tube. M calosiphon is narrower and less than a third the length of the slender, colorfully striped tube. The callus of the eptals of M calsiphon ends bluntly, in M fuchsii they end in a thick, retrose, basal process." Luer 2002
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; A Treasure of Masdevallia Vol 25 Luer & Dalstroem 2000 watercolor/drawing fide; Masdevallia's in Kleur Vol 1 P M Oversteegen, Eisses & A P Sijm 2001 photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXIII Systematics of Masdevallia Part 4 Luer 2002 drawing fide; Las Orquideas del Peru Izerskyy & Bezverhov 2011 photo fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 89 #1 2020 photo fide
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