Maxillaria buchtienii Schltr. 1929 - See also Maxillaria splendens Poepp. & Endl. 1836 Photo courtesy of Andy's Orchids, Copyright © 2002 All rights reserved

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Common Name Buchtien's Maxillaria [Orchid collector in Central Ammerica and Brazil in 1900's]

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in wet montane forests at elevations of 800 to 1400 meters as a small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with oblong-elliptic, compressed pseudobulbs that are enveloped basally by several, imbricate sheaths with the uppermost being foliaceous and carrying a single, apical, linear-ligulate, coriaceous, apically obliquely bilobed leaf that is conduplicate at the petiolate base that blooms in the spring and summer on a series [1 to 5] of short, axillary, 7" [15.5 cm] long inflorescence arising on a mature growth and enveloped basally by several, tubular, obtuse bracts and has a large floral bract carrying a campanulate, nicely fragrant flower. This species has been in synonymy with M splendens but with new research it is felt that this can be a valid species, leaving M splendens endemic to Peru and M buchtienii with a large distribution from Venezuela to Bolivia.

Synonyms Maxillaria histiolugorum Rchb.f. 1852

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 6 Dunsterville & Garay 1976 as M splendens in error; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 4 1970; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 312 + Supplememt Bennett & Christenson 1995; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2006 as M splendens;