MASDEVALLIA VESPERTILIO Rehb. f. 
MAspEVALLIA VEsPERTILIO Rehb. f. Bot. Zeit. 1873, p. 390; Gard. Chron. 1877, pt. L., p- 272; 1880, 
pt. 1, p. 712; 1881, pt. IL, p. 409 ; Veitch Manual Orch. pt. V. (1889), 1 Wl, 
Leaf 6 or 7 inches long, oblong-lanceolate, carinate at the back, apex acutely tridenticulate, narrow- 
ing below into a grooved petiole, sheathed at the base, bright green. 
Pedunele about 4 inches long, terete, slender, attenuate below, lateral or descending from the base of 
the petiole, jointed, with a closely sheathing bract at each joint, bearing two or three flowers in succession, 
dull purplish-green ; flowering bract % inch long, ovate, apiculate, sheathing below, with one or two 
buds within, bright green. 
Ovary 4 inch long, with six crenate wings, green and crimson. 
Sepals: dorsal sepal united to the lateral sepals for about 3 inch, forming an open cup, free portion 
triangular-ovate for nearly 3 inch ; lateral sepals cohering for nearly 1 inch, very broad, triangular-ovate, 
rounded below; all the sepals pale sulphur-yellow spotted with crimson, the inner surface covered with 
elongated papillw, with numerous nerves, the principal ones prominent on the outer surface, terminating 
in slender terete tails about 14 inch long, yellow, with minute crimson spots. 
Petals scarcely } inch long, oblong, apex bilobed, with a mass of minute reddish papillae between the 
lobes, pale yellow spotted with red-brown. 
Lip about 4 inch long, fleshy and deeply grooved at the base and united to the foot of the column 
by a very flexible hinge, anterior portion shell-like, the margins converging inwards, the inner surface 
quite smooth, without rays, pure white. 
Column a little longer than the petals, narrowly winged, apex acutely denticulate, pale yellow, banded 
with red. 
}y AS dried specimens of Masdevallia vespertilio were sent to Professor Reichenbach 
by the collectors Roezl, Wallis, Chesterton and Patin, from the Valley of the 
Cauca, in Colombia, but until 1877 no living plants had been imported. The first to 
flower were in the collection of Sir Trevor Lawrence. 
The general characteristics of the flower are constant and distinct, and the structure 
of the lip alone would suffice to identify the species: This organ is remarkable for the 
entire absence of keels or rays, a peculiarity which will be easily seen by comparing the 
accompanying Plate with those preceding it in the same section. 
Consul Lehmann sends the following information : 
Masdevallia vespertilio has almost as wide a geographical distribution as the allied species, J. 
Chimera, and is found upon the upper slopes of the valleys between the Central and Western Cordilleras 
of Colombia, and also on the western declivities of the Western Cordillera at both its northern and 
southern extremities. It grows in dense masses upon trees in thick woods, at an elevation of 1,200 to 
1,700 metres (3,900 to 5,525 feet), and the temperature ranges between 19° and 21°5° Centigrade (about 66° 
to 70° Fahrenheit). The climate is uniformly damp and the atmosphere is nearly always saturated with 
moisture. 
As a species M. vespertilio is most distinct and shows very little variation, the size and number of 
flowers upon a plant being perhaps the only perceptible difference. Throughout its entire range, from 
the north of Antioquia to the southern boundary of the Department of Cauca, the bright yellow of the 
flowers, with their rich crimson spots, is exactly similar, and several flowers are produced in succession 
upon the same stem. The largest-flowered plants are found at Frontino, its northern limit, and also on 
the highlands of Los Anayes, and on the eastern slopes of the Cerro Munchique, near Popayiin. On the 
Cordillera of Belalcazar, a lateral range of Mountains branching off from the Cerro de Caramanta in the 
Western Cordillera, and running first eastwards and then southwards, and ending a little below Cartago, 
in Cauca, M. vespertilio grows in great abundance. The flowers in this region are small, but very 
numerous and finely coloured, as are also those found at its southern limit, near Pususquer and San 
Pablo, on the road from Tuquerres to Barbacoas. From this locality I introduced a large number of 
plants in 1880, and they still form the main stock of this species in Europe. 
Explanation of Plate : 
Fig. 1, petal, lip, and column, in natural position ;—1a, section of ovary ;—2, petal, inner side ;— 
2a, petal, side ;—8, lip ;—4, column ;—4a, apex of column ; all enlarged ;—5, apex and section of leaf; 
—6, seed-capsule from a wild plant ; natural size. 
