Masdevallia bonplandi Reichb.f 1855 SUBGENUS Masdevallia SECTION Coriaceae SUBSECTION Coriaceae [Rchb.f]Veitch 1889 Photo by © Eric Hunt and His Orchid Website

Plant and Flowers in situ Ecuador Photo by © Lourens Grobler

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Common Name Bonpland's Masdevallia [French Botanist in South America 1800's]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in cloudforests on fully exposed grassy hillsides at elevations of 1100 to 3750 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial orchid with stout, erect ramicauls carrying a single, apical, suberect to erect, thickly coriaceous, obovate-linear to semi-terete obutse, sulcate, leaf that is gradually narrowed into the subpetiolate base and blooms on a stout, suberect to erect, single flowered, 4" [10 cm] long, purple spotted, inflorescence that arises from low on the ramicaul with a bract near the base and a single floral bract. Very similar to M coriacea it differs in having a wider range, a smaller plant with narrower, semi-terete, sulcate leaves, a shorter peduncle and smaller flowers, except the lip and petals are almost the same in size and shape. The sepals are marked with purple either in heavy spots or various degrees of suffusin.

Synonyms Byrsella bonplandii (Rchb.f.) Luer 2006; Masdevallia coriacea subsp. bonplandii (Rchb.f.) Luer 1986; Masdevallia endotrachys Kraenzl. 1925; Masdevallia porcelliceps var. sulphurea Kraenzl. 1925; Masdevallia sulphurea F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1921; Masdevallia uniflora H.B.K. 1816

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998; Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXI Systematics of Masdevallia Part 2 Luer 2000; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 3 COS 2002; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide

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