Maxillaria cf caucae Garay 1967 sect. Erectae Pfitz 1889

Photo by Guillermo Misas Urreta

Common Name or Meaning The Cauca Maxillaria

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Cauca department of Colombia as a miniature sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with a short rhizome with .6" [1.5 cm] between each ovate, strongly compressed, ancipitous pseudobulb subtened by foliaceous bracts and carrying a single, apical, erect-spreading, narrowly ligulate, obtuse leaf that blooms on basal, peduncle short, sparsely bracteate, .28 to .32" [7 to 8 mm] long, single flowered inflorescence with acute, much shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying erect, small for the genus, glabrous except for the lip, dark brown flowers.

CAUTION!!!! Eric Christenson states that the pictured orchid could be M caucae however "details of the flowers, especially the narrowly wedge shaped lip base and the elongate column do not allow placement with M caucae based on the type description".

Synonyms Maxillaria parvula Schltr. 1924; Maxillariella caucae (Garay) Bogarín 2014

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas 2005 as M sp pg 393-393 drawing/photo fide; Maxillaria Christenson Vol 1 2013; Phytotaxa 289 (3): 247–255 2016

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