Masdevallia mendozae Luer 1983 SUBGENUS Masdevallia SECTION Masdevallia SUBSECTION Saltatrices [Rchb.f] Luer 1986
Photo by © Jay Pfahl
Photo courtesy of Eric Hunt, plant grown by the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers
Photo courtesy of Joseph Dougherty
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
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Common Name Mendoza's Masdevallia [Ecuadorian Orchid Enthusisast - 20th cen]
Flower Size 1/4" [.06 cm]
Found In Ecuador in cloud forests growing low down on mossy twigs and branches or occasionally as a terrestrial in leaf litter at elevations of 1800 to 2300 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing, epiphytic species with clustered, erect, slender stems enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths carrying a single, apical, erect to spreading, oblanceolate, obtuse, petiolate leaf that blooms in the fall through spring on a suberect, 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" [4 to 6.5 cm] long, solitary flowered inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul with a bract near the base and a tubular floral bract that sometimes has a successive flower all held below the leaves.
This species is more tolerant of summer heat as long as air circulation is good and also tolerates more bright light than many other Masdevallia
Very close to M maxilimax but it differs mostly in the fialmentous downward pointing tails, M mendoza has thicker tails all round and the dorsal sepals tail ascends on M mendoza, and a ventrally constriced area on M maxilimax and a tubular non-constricted ventral area on M mendozae. Also similar to M limax but it has a smaller flowers with thinner, longer tails and a much shorter sepaline tube.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Systematics of Masdevallia Vol 2 Luer 1986; AOS Bulletin Vol 56 No 11 1987 photo fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 62 No 6 1993 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 67 No 1 1998 photo 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; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 3 Dodson 2002 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 9 2003 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 72 No 4 2008 photo fide; Orchidaceae Masdevallia and Affiliates Dodson & Luer 2009 drawing fide; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 81 #11 2012 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 82 #3 2013 photo fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide;
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