Masdevallia

Masdevallia herradurae

The genus Masdevallia of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) comprises more than 400 plant species found in Central and South America. The majority of the plants growing in higher altitudes of the Andes, mostly as an epiphyte on trees, but also partly as Lithophyt on rocks or terrestrial.

Description

The growth of Masdevallia species occurs sympodial. For a thin, surrounded by membranous Lower leaves to the roots, rhizome and the individual rung. The roots are surrounded by a one to five cell layers thick velamen. The shoots are unthickened and are crowded or spaced from each other. The shoots are also wrapped at the base of dry leaves down, on top wear a single sheet. This is from a leathery texture, stalked, roundish - oval shaped to narrowly oval. The leaves can be filled on both sides with glandular hairs.

The inflorescence appears terminal. At the point of attachment of leaf and inflorescence on the shoot the shoot forms a " annulus " said tubular extension. The inflorescence is one to many flowered, flowers are more available, they form a cluster. The flowers are 'upside. The show effect is mainly on the three outer petals out, they are often grown together and often end up in a long pulled tip. The lateral petals are small, longitudinally extending keel and provided with a small bump at the base. The lip usually carries two longitudinal keels at the base, it does not sit directly on the ovary, but is articulated with a short extension of the column ( " pedestal " ) connected. The stamen carries two laterally compressed pollinia.

Dissemination

The plants of the genus Masdevallia are found from southern Mexico to southern Brazil, its main area of ​​distribution lies in the higher regions of the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. They are found in mountainous regions, mostly at altitudes above 2000 meters.

Systematics and botanical history

The first description of Masdevallia comes from the Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón y Jiménez 1794. Genus by José Masdeval, a physician and botanist, was named in the court of Charles III. of Spain. The genus was collected on a no longer known today city in Peru ( 1779) and shipped to Spain. In the subfamily Epidendroideae the genus Masdevallia in the tribe Epidendreae and the subtribe Pleurothallidinae is classified. The next related to Masdevallia is the genus Dracula.

After the basic editing of Carlyle Luer the genus Masdevallia is divided into twelve sub- genres. After further studies, the monotypic subgenus Pelecaniceps is counted to the genus Phloeophila, the small subgenus Pygmaeia forms a separate genus Diodonopsis. The division in the remaining ten subgenera and several sections settled in DNA studies not understand, but it proved for the identification of individual species to be useful.

• Subgenus Amanda with the sections Amandae and Ophioglossae.
• Subgenus Masdevallia with the sections Amaluzae, Aphanes, Caudivolvulae, coriaceae, Ligiae, Masdevallia, Mentosae, minutiae, and Racemosae Reichenbachianae.
• Subgenus Cucullatia
• Subgenus Fissia
• Subgenus Meleagris
• Subgenus nidifica
• Subgenus Polyantha with the sections Alaticaules and Polyanthae
• Subgenus Scabripes
• Subgenus Teagueia
• Subgenus Volvula

Documents

• Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase ( Ed.): Genera Orchidacearum. Epidendroideae ( Part one ). 2nd edition. 4/1, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-850712-7, pp. 367-370.