Masdevallia lamprotyria

I posted a few pictures of the flowers of this species several months ago.  At that time the plant had just a few flowers, as it does off and on throughout the year, but now the plant is in full bloom and I decided to post some recent pictures both of the flowers and of the plant.  The species is from Peru and Ecuador, the flower is approximately 3 cm and grows on a 10 cm plant with narrow leaves. It blooms in the spring and when it blooms produces many flowers if it is happy.  Mine is grown in a net pot in live sphagnum.  The species is named for its color, and has what seems to me the scent of lilacs, strong enough during the day to perfume a whole room.

Platystele hirtzii

Platystele hirtzii is a tiny species from Ecuador that belongs to the Pleurothallidinae, the group that contains the better known genera, Masdevallia and Pleurothallis.  The plant is only a couple of centimeters tall and the flowers, held well above the leaves on thin, successively flowered spikes, are 1 cm in size.  The plant is named after a German orchid collector, Alexander Hirtz.

These pictures (obviously) were taken on a blue background and I included them because I had a picture of the plant on that background, but the pictures of the individual flowers that I took against a darker background actually turned out better.

Reichantha striatella

Once known as Masdevallia striatella (and still called that by many orchidists), Reichantha striatella is a beauty by any name.  The plant is 10 cm tall and easy to grow.  The flowers are produced singly and are 1 cm in size.  The species comes from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela.

Masdevallia ampullacea 'Connor' CHM/AOS

This plant was awarded at our annual show last week (pictures of that to follow).  There were, I think, four awards given to three plants.  This was given a Certificate of Horticultural Merit by the American Orchid Society, an award given to "well-grown and well-flowered species or natural hybrid with characteristics that contribute to the horticultural aspects of orchidology, such as aesthetic appeal."  The award is provisional, since the identity of the plant has to be confirmed by a a panel of experts who serve the American Orchid Society in that capacity.  I was also informed that species is quite rare, growing on only one mountainside in Ecuador.  The plant was awarded as Masdevallia aurea but later identified as Masdevallia ampullacea.

More pictures including some close-ups of the flowers can be found on a previous blog post:  http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2011/05/masdevallia-aurea.html.

Potinara Martha Clarke x Sophrocattleya Beaufort

This is an unregistered and unnamed hybrid of Potinara Martha Clarke and Sophrocattleya Beaufort, and, yes, I know that the names have changed but I can neither get used to or remember them.  Under the old system of names this would be a Potinara, a combination of four genera, Cattleya, Sophronitis, Laelia, and Brassavola, but beautiful by any name.  The plant is very small, heavily influenced by its Sophronitis background, 5-6 inches.  The flowers are small, also, 2 inches across, somewhat smaller than one would have expected from this cross.

Masdevallia eurynogaster

Masdevallia eurynogaster is a small species from Ecuador and Peru.  It is another of the Saltatrices group, with a belly-like bulge at the base of the flower and glandular hairs lining the inside of the sepaline tube.  The colors on this species, however, are very different from the rest - not as boldly colored, but nevertheless very beautiful in its own way.  The plant is 8 cm and the flowers very nearly that size.  The name "eurynogaster" means "big-bellied."