Maxillaria tenebrosa Zambrano & Solano 2016 sect. Erectae

Photo by Javier Zambrano

to

Common Name The Dark Maxillaria [refers to the flowers color]

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in El Oro province of Ecuador in semi-deciduous premontane and semi-deciduous montane forests (on tree branches at elevations around 600 to 1300 meters as a small sized, warm to cool, pendent growing epiphyte with a cylindrical rhizome with .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] between each ellipsoid, distichous, ancipitous, light green, smooth in youth, longitudinally striated at maturity pseudobulbs enveloped basally by 3 to 6, foliaceous, distichous, conduplicate, persistent, chartaceous, imbricating, sometimes purple spotted sheaths and carrying a single, apical, elliptic to lanceolate-ensiform, obtuse, slightly coriaceous, arching, obliquely bilobed apically, light green, sometimes spotted with purple on younger leaves, slightly bluured in mature ones, conduplicate below into the sessile base leaf that blooms in the fall, winter and spring on 1 to 3, basal, arising on a mature pseudobulb, peduncle erect, cylindrical, .6" [15 mm] long, provided with 3 to 4, scarious, acute, conduplicate, imbricating bracts, single flowered inflorescence with scarious, acute, conduplicate, imbricating, much shorter than the pedicel and ovary floral bracts and carrying a bell shaped, slightly fetid smelling flower.

This species is closest to M variabilis. These other species are also close to M tenebrosa, M acervata, M caespitifica M caucae, M costaricensis, M ponerantha, M procurrens and M xanthorhoda

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Phytotaxa 289 (3): 247–2552016 drawing/photo fide;

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

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