MAXILLARIA 119 



48. MAXILLARIA Ruiz & Pavon. 



Epiphytic herbs. Stems sometimes very short on the rhizome 

 becoming thickened into a fleshy pseudobulb with one or two 

 leaves, sometimes elongated at the apex of the rhizome with the 

 leaves close together in two ranks. Leaves leathery, thin or 

 somewhat fleshy, veins thin except the central nerve. Scapes or 

 peduncles at the base of the pseudobulbs or in axils of the 

 leaves, solitary, with two to numerous sheaths, always 1 -flowered. 

 Flowers large or medium-sized. Sepals nearly equal, free 

 amongst themselves, lateral adnate at the base to the foot of 

 the column, generally forming a chin, not very prominent, 

 spreading or more rarely somewhat erect. Petals similar to the 

 sepals or sometimes smaller. Lip concave, erect at the apex of 

 the foot of the column with a very short inflexed claw ; lateral 

 lobes erect, median ovate-oblong spreading, shorter than the 

 sepals ; disk with a tubercle or naked. Column with a short 

 foot, erect, often slightly incurved, thick, semiterete, not winged, 

 anteriorly concave ; clinandrium somewhat thick, concave, entire. 

 Anther terminal, opercular, incumbent, conical or semiglobose, 

 1 -celled or imperfectly 2-celled, often pubescent; poUinia 4, 

 ovate, compressed, without an appendage, on the dehiscence of 

 the anther attached by a flat, short stalk, with a scale-like 

 gland. Capsule ovoid or obo void-oblong, erect, not beaked. 



Species about 240, natives of tropical America from the 

 West Indies and Mexico to Brazil. 



Pseudobulbs conspicuous. 



Pseudobulbs clustered, ovoid-cylindrical, with 



membranous sheaths 1. M. rufescens. 



Pseudobulbs distant, ellipsoidal-compressed, with 



hard bases of foliaceous sheaths 2. M. alba. 



Pseudobulbs poorly developed and inconspicuous, 



bases of leaves thickened 3. M. sessilis. 



1. M. rufescens Lindl in Bot. Beg. under t. 1802 (1835) 

 & t. 1848; pseudobulbs clustered, ovoid-cylindrical, with 

 membranous sheaths ; lip yellow with numerous purple spots, 

 distinctly 3-lobed, lateral lobes springing from a little below 

 middle of lip, triangular-falcate, subacute, terminal lobe much 

 larger, broadly oblong, emarginate, disk with an oblong callus 

 half length of lip. — Beichh. f. in Saund. Bef. Bot. ii. under t. 79 

 &<. 133; Griseb. Fl. Br. W. Ind. 626; Cogn. in Fl. Bras. Hi. 

 pt. 6,12. (PI. 25, f. 13-16.) 



On trees ; in fl. May ; cult, in Hope Gardens from plant collected at 

 Lancaster, Harris, drawing by Miss H. Wood! — Trinidad, Costa Rica, 

 Colombia, Venezuela, B. Guiana, Brazil. 



Plant 6-8 in. high. Stem, primary almost obsolete. Pseudobulbs 



