I have the pleasure of introducing an unexpected, but very welcome, Masdevallia guest – or shall we say free passenger. It came in the same pot as my Dracula barrowii, purchased from Orchids & More in 2009 but I did not discover it until now when it decided to bloom. I knew something was up as soon as it started to spike. Dracula barrowii sets pendulous spikes, these were growing straight up. I looked closer at the plant and noticed a set of different looking leaves in the pot, curious I never noticed that before… I guess you only see what you expect to see. Hey, I am not knocking it… I really like the species, and free orchids can never be a bad thing.
So, what species can it be? The flower has been open for about a week in these fotos and does not open further. I have received suggestions for both M. ensata and M. ustulata. I must admit that it has very strong resemblances to Masdevallia ustulata, a small cool growing epiphyte from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, but I am not completely convinced. The photos I have seen (on IOSPE, and here for example) are displaying a lot more red coloring, mine is closer to rust-colored. The specimen on IOSPE also seem to open a bit more than mine, but I suppose that could be clonal differences? Does anyone have a guess?
I will keep it with the Dracula for now and perhaps separate them when it is time to repot next time. I grow it potted in a mesh pot with EpiWeb substrate in the cool vivarium under medium/low light and in high humidity.
It is also possible that the flower looks different because this is the plants first flowering, correct?
As far as I know, this is the first flowering of the plant. Looks like it. So, yes there is a distinct possibility that the flowers will change somewhat as the plant matures. Time will tell I guess. 🙂
I don’t see, Karma, that this can be anything but ustulata. There just isn’t anything else in this section that looks anything like this and the colors are not that much different from the pictures of ustualata.
Thanks Ron. I have been looking into this some more too this week, and I agree with you. I think we have found the correct ID. Very fun when you can actually accomplish this, as it is always more fun when you know what you are growing. All in all, I am pleased with my free plant, M ustulata is a species I am very happy to grow. 🙂
I’m with you on that! I like to have names and get a bit antsy when I have a plant that’s named wrongly or unnamed (if it’s a hybrid I don’t keep it) and it is fun trying to find out what it is. I enjoyed looking for your plant and learned a few things in the process.
Yes, I feel the same, although I do grow some hybrids… 😉 Thanks a lot for your help!!