Masdevallia lenae Luer & Hirtz 1991 SUBGENUS Polyantha SECTION Alaticaules SUBSECTION Alaticaules [Krzl.] Luer 1986
Photo by © Helge Vindennes
Photo courtesy of © Lourens Grobler
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
Common Name Lena's Masdevallia [Mrs. Dalstrom Swedish co-collector of species current]
Flower Size .4" [1 cm]
Found in Morona-Santiago province of Ecuador in wet forests at elevations around 600 to 1800 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptical, subacute, gradually narrowing below into the indistinct petiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring on a slender, arising from low on the ramicaul with a bract at the base, suberect, triquetrous, 4 to 4.4" [10 to 11 cm] long, successively few flowered inflorescence with tubular, imbricating, onger to shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.
"Distinguished by its Congested, successively flowred raceme borne by a very slender, triquetrous peduncle that bends with the weight of the single, small, dark purple flower that is reminiscent of M cardiantha. The sepaline tube is shortand the sepaline tails are very slender and recurved. THe petal is indistinctly callous along the labellar margin. The configuration of the lip varies from the standard for the subsection with th undulate margin near the middle below the marginal folds and a-pair of rounded calli on the hypochile near the middle." Luer 2000
CAUTION The first photo although out of focus seems to fit very well but I am a bit unsure of the second determination but it may be correct, the only major difference here is the split between the tails of the synsepal. In the type the split does not go to close to the middle of the synsepal, it just barely enters.
Synonyms Alaticaulia lenae (Luer & Hirtz) Luer 2006; Masdevallia gracilior Königer & J.Portilla 1995
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * indleyana 6: 87 Luer 1991 drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum XIX Systematics of Masdevallia Part One Luer 2000 drawing fide; Masdevallia's in Kleur Vol 1 P M Oversteegen, Eisses & A P Sijm 2001 photo fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 3 Dodson 2002 photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVIII Luer 2006 as Alaticaulia lenae; Orchidaceae Masdevallia and Affiliates Dodson & Luer 2009 as Alaticaulia lenae drawing ok; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide;
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