Maxillaria semiscabra (Lindl.) P.Ortiz 1991 TYPE Drawing by © Pastorelli, Bennett & Christenson

Drawing NOT! Original Drawing by © Padre Pedro Ortiz Conserved at the Herbario de la Universidad Javeriana, Bogota Colombia

Common Name The Half Rough Maxillaria

Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in wet montane forests at elevations around 1150 meters as a small to medium sized, cool growing epiphyte with??? See below

Lindley writes that the rhizome is a woody twig, the leaves ensiform, the solitary pseudobulb ancipitous, the sepals with a rough apex , the lip with an oblong blunt tip and a waved callus. The leaves are 4 to 5" long and the long roots enter the humus of the forest floor

CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!There are 2 distinct orchids shown here in the drawings. One by Padre Pedro Ortiz shows what he thought M semiscabra was incorrectly. He correctly moved the genus to Maxillaria from Lindley's Ornithidium in Orquideologia 18: 101 1991 and did the second drawing in error {which was not published in the article, I found it in the library at the Javeriana in Bogata} above of a small, globose red flowered orchid. Schweinfurth described Maxillaria fasciculata in 1952. At some time Dodson reduced M fasciculata to a synonym of M semiscabra. Christenson in Icones 1995 puts the basionym of this species as Pleurothallis semiscabra IN ERROR!!!! Christenson´s drawing is the same as the drawing by Schweinfurth in Orchids of Peru Vol 3 1960 and is the first drawing above on this page and is the most correct currently. It shows an erect, ascending plant with narrow canaliculate leaves and a much larger open flower that is white faintly tinged with pink on the tepals.

Obviously we are working with 2 completely different plants here. I now have access to Lindley's original description of Ornithidium semiscabra and Synonyms Laricorchis fasciculata (C.Schweinf.) Szlach. & Sitko 2012; Maxillaria fasciculata C.Schweinf. 1952; Ornithidium fasciculatum (C.Schweinf.) M.A.Blanco 2008; *Ornithidium semiscabrum Lindl. 1845

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Pl. Hartw.: 153 Lindl. in G.Bentham 1845 as Ornithidium semiscabrum Orchids of Peru Vol 3 Schweinfurth 1960 drawing fide; *Orquideologia Vol 18 #1 1991; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 315 Bennett & Christenson 1995 as M fasciculata drawing fide to the first drawing; Maxillaria and Unfinished Monograph Vol 2 Christenson 2013

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------