Masd. ventricularia
 

From Colombia and Ecuador:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8098/8...2e219195_t.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6...9950e174_t.jpg

Orchids in Bloom: Masdevallia ventricularia

I'll convert you yet, Tindo. You're going to be growing these before you know it.

:love: Beautiful! I love the opalescent colors!

Thanks, Sonya. They really do shimmer in the light.

Very well bloomed, Ron. Fantastic!

But are you sure that this is M. ventricularia? In my opinion this is a pale form of M. filaria.

I am not at all sure, Tom, that this is ventricularia. I got it from Ecuagenera and wondered by self, especially because many of their plants are mislabeled. I am, however, confused as to the difference since I've seen plants labeled ventricularia ssp. filaria.

I love the colour. Would this one grow on a swamp stick? I'd love to grow a few of the cooler growing masdies, but my temps. are a bit too warm. I have good results with restrepias and lepanthes on swamp sticks. What do you think?

I've never used swamp sticks, but if I were you, I'd give a few of them a try. You might look for M. strobelii, a very prolific bloomer and scented, or Masd. decumana, a really spectacular species.

Ron, Luer & Escobar described M. filaria in 1978. But in 1986 they worked this species over and named it M. ventricularia susp. filaria.

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

But the accepted name is M. filaria.

Here are paintings of both species:

M. filaria
http://orchid.unibas.ch/phpMyHerbari...mg/308576m.jpg

Masdevallia ventricularia
http://orchid.unibas.ch/phpMyHerbari...mg/308457m.jpg

http://orchid.unibas.ch/phpMyHerbari...mg/308596m.jpg