MAspEVALIIA MELANOPUS. 
The most noticeable characteristic of this plant is, perhaps, that, as stated by 
Professor Reichenbach, the flowers are “all directed to one side.” In dried specimens 
the small spots are less visible, while the dark colour at the base of the flowers becomes 
more apparent, producing the blackish stain which suggested the name melanopus, or 
“ black-foot.” 
I am indebted to Mr. Moore for numerous examples of these flowers, as well as for 
a piece of his plant, at that time probably the only one of the species in the British Isles. 
Note by Consul Lehmann : 
The habitat of Masdevallia melanopus is in Ecuador and North Peru, where it grows on trees in dense 
woods at an elevation of 2,400 to 2,700 métres (7,800 to 8,775 feet). I have found it on the Cordillera de 
Ampboca, near the villages of Cisne and Chuquiribamba, in the Province of Loja, Ecuador. Also near 
Cariamanga, Hutiana and Sosoranga, in the mountains of Loja, and of Piura in Peru. It flowers in 
October and November. 
The climate of this region is damp and foggy during the greater part of the year. During the dry 
season, which lasts only from the end of July to the first few days of October, parching winds sweep over 
the mountains, and for several hours of the day the sun shines from a cloudless sky, causing many of the 
plants to shrivel and die off. The annual mean temperature ranges between 14° and 16° Centigrade 
(about 57° to 61° Fahrenheit). 
