Luzama amaluzae

Luzama amaluzae or Masdevallia amaluzae is a small species from Ecuador and Peru.  The flowers are 3 cm on a plant the same size and are held on spikes that are 6-8 cm in length.  The plant blooms profusely and seems to prefer somewhat lower light and a mount rather than a pot.  My plant is grown cool and is on a piece of cedar.

Lepanthes ingridiana

Lepanthes ingridiana is a rather rare species from Ecuador whose flowers are some of the largest in the genus.  The plant itself is also quite large, for the genus, 15-20 cm tall.  It bears a single 5 cm leaf on an upright stem with the typical bracts of a Lepanthes.  The plants are native to Ecuador and Columbia and come from higher elevations.  They require cool temperatures in cultivation.

The bright yellow spidery flowers are huge for the genus.  Fully extended they would be around 7 cm long, but they tend to hang in a kind of half-circle under the leaves.  The flowers appear successively with a new bud forming as the previous flower opens.  The plant is almost always in flower, therefore, with each new growth adding its succession of flowers to those already blooming.

Stelis glomerosa 'Lucille'

Stelis glomerosa (the name "glomerosa" refers to the ball-shaped flowers), is from Ecuador and belongs to a huge genus of plants whose flowers are often very similar and very small and undistinguished.  This species is different in having larger flowers with a very distinctive shape.  My plant is 5 cm tall, but seems to be getting larger.  It tends to ramble and produce new growths that come from the top of the previous growths, making it impossible to contain in a pot.  The flower spikes reach 10-15 cm and the flowers are slighting more than .5 cm in size.

Dendrobium violaceum

This is one of several plants of Dendrobium violaceum that I own, and one that is larger than most of the plants I grow.  The species is highly variable in plant size and flower color and this plant is at the larger end, 30 cm tall.  Its saving feature is its compact growth habit.  The flowers are just under 4 cm and open a bright violet which fades to pink over time.  They are very long lasting.  My plant has been in bloom non-stop for the past year, and the present flowers, which still look fresh, were produced last October.  The flowers are produced at the top of the pseudobulbs between the leaves, and the close-up shot shows their ruffled backs, green-tipped sepals, and green and bright orange lip.

Scaphosepalum merinoi

This is another unusual species from Ecuador.  The Scaphosepalums all have these "horned" flowers, though in some cases the appendages are not as long as in this species.  The plant itself has Masdevallia-like leaves and growth, approximately 8 cm tall, but the flower spikes are very long compared to the plant, 20 cm, and they continue to lengthen as the flowers are produced one after another, six or more per spike.  The flowers are 6 cm from tip to tip, rather large for the genus.  The plant is supposed to be warmth tolerant, but I grow it cool.  It is best grown mounted because of its long spikes

Masdevallia prodigiosa

Masdevallia prodigiosa, as its name suggests, is a very unusual species for the genus.  Its soft orange color, its rather strange shape, and its large-sized flowers are all distinctive, and the species cannot be mistaken for any other in the genus.  It comes from Peru and is a small plant, around 6 cm tall with flowers that are as large or larger than the plant, some 6-8 cm.  It is reputed to be temperature tolerant, but it grows best for me under cool conditions in live sphagnum and a net pot.