Masdevallia murex Luer 1982 SUBGENUS Masdevallia SECTION Coriaceae SUBSECTION Coriaceae Rchb.f 1874
Photos by © Eric Hunt
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
Common Name Triton's Horn Masdevallia
Flower Size 5/8" [1.5 cm]
Found in Ecuador and Peru in wet montane cloud forest at elevations of 1800 meters as a miniature sized, cool growing, caepitoese epiphyte with a 1" [2.5 cm] + tall ramicaul enveloped basally by 3 loose, tubular, scarious sheaths with ligulate-oblanceolate, minutely bilobed, coriaceous, dark green leaf that blooms in the summer on an ascending, 1.6" [4 cm] long, purple suffused, solitary flowered inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul with a single, tubular, acuminate floral bract and with the campanulate flower held at or below leaf height.
This species is distinguished by the fleshy floral segments, the arcuate, keeled lip and it's verruculose apex.
Synonyms Byrsella murex (Luer) Luer 2006
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Selbyana 7: 112 Luer 1982 drawing fide; Systematics of Masdevallia Vol 2 Luer 1986; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 089 Bennett & Christenson 1993 drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXI Systematics of Masdevallia Part 2 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 drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVIII Luer 2006 as Byrsella murex; Orchid Digest Vol 72 No 4 2008 photo fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orchidaceae Masdevallia and Affiliates Dodson & Luer 2009 as Byrsella murex photo/drawing fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide;
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