20122678 from Toronto CHMMaxillaria melina Lindl., Orchid. Linden.: 20 (1846).This name is accepted.Distribution:     N. South America to EcuadorSeventeen 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 bookMaxillaria 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, thefloral 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 x0.7 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, witha 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 withone flower, and Lindley’s drawing of the lip. The description provided here is based on the nonreconstitutedtype material. The species is distinguished by its “dirty yellow flowers”, essentiallyunlobed ovate lip, and oblong, truncate callus with a short pair of parallel ancillary keels.One modern photograph from Colombiamay represent M. melina (Native ColombianOrchids, 3: p. 314, no. 350. 1991).Modern records of M. melina for Venezuelaare not the species. Dunsterville 150 (Venez.Orch. Ill. 1:229. 1959) and Dunsterville 492(Venez. Orch. Ill. 2:205. 1961) while havinga similar lip differ by having very shortscapes (ca. 3 cm long), elliptic-lanceolatefloral bracts much longer than the ovariesand white flowers. The same species isshown 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) iswholly unrelated to the type.Recorded at an elevation of 1750 m(5600 ft.), plants of M. melina should begrown under cool conditions. Presumablycaespitose plants, pot culture or smallbaskets are suggested. Maxillaria melinaseems to be “generic” Maxillaria of littleinterest 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 Bennett7050 (holotype: MOL).Caespitose epiphytes. Pseudobulbs ellipsoidpyriform,compressed, to 6 x 2.5 cm,becoming grooved with age, subtended by2-3 foliaceous bracts subequal to the leaves.Leaves one, elliptic-ovate, attenuate to theconduplicate petiolate base, acute, to 22 x 3cm. Inflorescences erect scapes subequal tothe pseudobulbs, with a series of pustulateobovate bracts, the floral bracts similar, withseveral dark purple spots, slightly shorterthan the ovaries. Flowers cupped, the sepalstan on the basal half and diffusely streakedrose, apically brownish rose on the exterior,rose-purple on the interior, the petals similarexcept white basally, the lip cream colored,the midlobe covered with a tan farina, thelateral lobes tinted pale brownish purple, thecolumn pinkish white. Dorsal sepal oblongtriangular,apiculate, concave, 2 x 0.6 cm,the lateral sepals obliquely triangular280lanceolate, acuminate, initially divergent then incurved-deflexed with subparallel apices, 2.5 x 1cm. Petals obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, with the apices slightly recurved, 1.9 x 0.4 cm. Lip3-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 onthe 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, sparselypustulate bracts on the inflorescences, strongly incurved-deflexed lateral sepals, and lip denselycovered 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 marginalfor horticulture given the proportion of flowers to vegetation although nothing is known of howpotentially floriferous it might be in cultivation.Maxillaria melina, award 20122678,has been confirmed to be Maxillaria edwardsii by SITF (Jan 2013), with assistanceof Mario Blanco.   Please add to thedescription that Mario determined this to be Maxillaria argyrophylla, which heplans to synonymize with Maxillaria edwardsii in a future publication.