Maxillaria oestlundiana L.O.Williams 1942 Drawing by © Solano & Soto

Part Shade Warm Cool LATER Summer EARLIER Fall

Common Name Oestlund's Maxillaria [Swedish Orchid Collector 1900's]

Flower Size .28 to .6" [.7 to to 1.5 cm] tall

Found in Guerrero state of Mexico in montane rainforests at elevations of 850 to 1400 meters as a small to medium size, warm to cool, hanging, arching to repent growing epiphyte with an initially caespitose plant generating an elongate rhizome with age, generating several new pseudobulb plantlets at 1" [2.5 cm] intervals, oblong to oblong-elliptic, obtuse-truncate, very compressed, longitudinally sulcate when dried, green pseudobulbs carrying a single, apical, erect, linear to oblong-ensiform, obtuse, unequally bilobed apically, coriaceous, green, sulcate above, carinate beneath, conduplicate below into the base leaf that blooms in the later summer and earlier fall on 1 to various, basal, shorter than the pseudobulbs, peduncle with 2 nodes, enveloped by imbricate, inflated, scarious, bracts, .48 to .6" [1.2 to 1.5 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence with cucullate, cymbiform, conduplicate, strongly carinate dorsally, longer than the ovary and covering the base of the flower floral bracts and carrying resupinate, semi-shut flowers with green-yellow, transluscnt, strongly striped and diffused with purple brown, the lip is similar with the callus darker and brilliant, the column cream green diffused with purple brown and the anther is cream white.

This species is highly endangered as it main location has been altered and very little original habitat remains. It has not been seen in 24 years even though attempts have been made to locate it.

Synonyms Camaridium oestlundianum (L.O.Williams) M.A.Blanco 2007

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 10 Plate 1048 Soto 2008 drawing fide; drawing fide; Maxillaria An Unfinished Monograph Vol 2 Christenson 2013 drawing fide;

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