20122678 from Toronto CHM



Maxillaria melina Lindl., Orchid. Linden.: 20 (1846).

This name is accepted.

Distribution:     N. South America to Ecuador



Seventeen flowers and eight buds on 25 inflorescences and 10 developing inflorescences indicating a staggered bloom period, borne on a  45cm wide plant in a 12 cm plastic pot; pseudobulbs squat, tightly clustered, 3cm high by 1.5cm wide, laterally compressed; leaves acute, oblong linear up to 4cm wide by 20 cm long, petiole conduplicate to 8cm, formed canopy over erect inflorescences up to 7.5 cm tall; flowers white; sepals and petals distal half overlaid dusky mauve on interior and exterior; lip farinose, blushed light mauve distally; substance firm; texture matte; flowers emit sharp unpleasant order in close proximity; recognized for attractive colouration and floriferousness.



The clonal name given here was quite appropriate "Back-off Dirty Socks"  it had a very sharp rancid unpleasant odour, but only when you got close to the flowers - it was really unnoticeable with the plant just sitting at the table.



From Erics book



Maxillaria melina Lindley, Orch. Linden 20. 1846. TYPE: VENEZUELA. Merida,

5600’, June, Linden 641 (holotype: K).

Caespitose (?) epiphytes. Pseudobulbs ovoid. Leaves one (?), petiolate (?), oblong-lanceolate,

acute, ca. 23 x 3.3 cm. Inflorescences slender erect scapes, the peduncles ca. 15 cm long, the

floral bracts linear-lanceolate, acuminate, curved, ca. 3.3 cm long, slightly longer than the ovary.

Flowers “dirty yellow”. Sepals oblong, acute, the dorsal sepal concave, the lateral sepals ca. 2.1 x

0.7 cm. Petals linear-lanceolate, acute, slightly shorter and narrower than the sepals. Lip unlobed,

ovate, bluntly obtuse, with somewhat undulate anterior margins, the callus oblong, truncate, with

a short pair of parallel ancillary keels toward the apex.

Distribution: Venezuela and possibly Colombia (see text).

Etymology: The name refers to the honey-colored flowers.

Illustrations: Venezuela and possibly Colombia (see text).

Maxillaria melina is truly known only from the holotype comprising a leaf, an inflorescence with

one flower, and Lindley’s drawing of the lip. The description provided here is based on the nonreconstituted

type material. The species is distinguished by its “dirty yellow flowers”, essentially

unlobed ovate lip, and oblong, truncate callus with a short pair of parallel ancillary keels.

One modern photograph from Colombia

may represent M. melina (Native Colombian

Orchids, 3: p. 314, no. 350. 1991).

Modern records of M. melina for Venezuela

are not the species. Dunsterville 150 (Venez.

Orch. Ill. 1:229. 1959) and Dunsterville 492

(Venez. Orch. Ill. 2:205. 1961) while having

a similar lip differ by having very short

scapes (ca. 3 cm long), elliptic-lanceolate

floral bracts much longer than the ovaries

and white flowers. The same species is

shown by Foldats (Fl. Venez. 15(4):482.

1970). These records are correctly M.

albiflora Ames & C. Schweinf.

The Ecuadorian record of this species

(Icon. Pl. Trop., ser. 2, pl. 539. 1989) is

wholly unrelated to the type.

Recorded at an elevation of 1750 m

(5600 ft.), plants of M. melina should be

grown under cool conditions. Presumably

caespitose plants, pot culture or small

baskets are suggested. Maxillaria melina

seems to be “generic” Maxillaria of little

interest to horticulture.


M. melina photo of holotype.





Maxillaria edwardsii D. E. Benn. & Christenson, Lindleyana 13(2):68.

1998.

M. edwardsii.

TYPE: PERU. Junin, Chanchamayo, leg. O.

del Castillo, Hort. E. Edwards ex Bennett

7050 (holotype: MOL).

Caespitose epiphytes. Pseudobulbs ellipsoidpyriform,

compressed, to 6 x 2.5 cm,

becoming grooved with age, subtended by

2-3 foliaceous bracts subequal to the leaves.

Leaves one, elliptic-ovate, attenuate to the

conduplicate petiolate base, acute, to 22 x 3

cm. Inflorescences erect scapes subequal to

the pseudobulbs, with a series of pustulate

obovate bracts, the floral bracts similar, with

several dark purple spots, slightly shorter

than the ovaries. Flowers cupped, the sepals

tan on the basal half and diffusely streaked

rose, apically brownish rose on the exterior,

rose-purple on the interior, the petals similar

except white basally, the lip cream colored,

the midlobe covered with a tan farina, the

lateral lobes tinted pale brownish purple, the

column pinkish white. Dorsal sepal oblongtriangular,

apiculate, concave, 2 x 0.6 cm,

the lateral sepals obliquely triangular280

lanceolate, acuminate, initially divergent then incurved-deflexed with subparallel apices, 2.5 x 1

cm. Petals obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, with the apices slightly recurved, 1.9 x 0.4 cm. Lip

3-lobed, concave, farinaceous, 1.6 x 0.8 cm, the lateral lobes erect, involute, obliquely oblongelliptic,

obtuse-rounded, the midlobe oblong-elliptic, obtuse-rounded, undulate, with a keel on

the undersurface below the apex, the callus oblong, from the base of the lip to beyond the middle.

Column club-shaped, ca. 1 cm long, the column foot retrorse, ca. 1 cm long.

Distribution: Peru.

Etymology: ##

Illustrations: ## Lindleyana 13(2):68. 1998; Ic. O. Peru. 1998, pl. 504, pl. 539 (as M. melina).

Maxillaria edwardsii is distinguished by its broad leaves, conspicuous foliaceous bracts, sparsely

pustulate bracts on the inflorescences, strongly incurved-deflexed lateral sepals, and lip densely

covered by farinaceous trichomes (plant “hairs”).

Bennett types recorded as at USM or in Herb. Bennettianum have all been transferred to MOL.

The elevation for M. edwardsii is unknown but the species was collected in wet montane forest.

The plants should be grown in pots under cool-intermediate temperatures. The species is marginal

for horticulture given the proportion of flowers to vegetation although nothing is known of how

potentially floriferous it might be in cultivation.