Maxillaria eburnea Lindley 1840 subgen Camaridium? Photo by Eric Hunt, plant grown by Andy's Orchids

Common Name The White-Flowered Maxillaria

Flower Size to 4" [to 10 cm]

Found rarely only in Guyana {southern Venezuela?} at elevations of 1500 to 1800 meters as a small to just medium sized, cool growing epiphyte with ellipsoid, small pseudobulbs partially enveloped by small, basal papery bracts and carrying a single, apical, oblong-elliptic to elliptic, abruptly acuminate, petiolate base leaf that blooms on an elongate, slender, erect, to 7.8" [19.5 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, longer than the ovary floral bracts.

CAUTION!!!!!! {pers comm} According to Dr Christenson, the orchid photographed above cannot be the real M eburnea, as according to his research M eburnea has a pure white flower and pseudobulbs without foliaceous bracts. I leave the photo because this is what is commercially sold as M eburnea to the Orchid Growers.

This is a single, large flowered orchid that has not been recollected since it's discovery in 1840 and is often erroniously refered to as a synonym of M grandiflora but it differs significantly in the lip, this species has a much less ruffled, unlobed lip apex and a central callus with ancilliary calli on either side.

Similar to Maxillaria augustae-victoriae, M christensonii M colombiana, M crispiloba, M × dichroma, M x doucetiana, M elegantula, M fletcheriana, M fucata, M grandiflora, M grandis, M irrorata, M lehmannii, M macropoda, M sanderiana and Maxillaria turkeliae

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orquideologia Vol 17 #3 1988 as subgen Camaridium; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 3 COS 1991 photo not?; Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 28 1713 - 1776 Brieger 1993; Maxillaria An Unfinished Monograph Vol 1 Christenson 2013 drawing hmm;

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