Selbyana 2(4) - Epidendra

Masdevallia helenae Luer, sp. nov.
Planta parva epiphytica caespitosa, caulibus secundariis brevibus unifoliatis,
folio coriaceo anguste obovato pedunculo paulo longiore, bractea floris
atropunctata, sepalis nitidis aureis rubrovittatis in tuba cylindrica alte connatis
caudis virescentibus fere aequilongis, petalis oblongis truncatis basi
unguiculatis cum dente crasso grandi, labello oblongoligulato.
Plant small, epiphytic, caespitose; roots slender, flexuous. Secondary
stems blackish, short, terete, 1-2 cm long, concealed by 1-2 loose, tubular
sheaths. Leaf erect, coriaceous, narrowly obovate, 6-9 cm long, 12-18 mm
wide, the obtuse to rounded apex tridenticulate, gradually narrowed below
into an indistinct, channeled petiole 2-3 cm long. Inflorescence a single,
colorful flower borne by an erect, slender peduncle 4-5 cm long, from a node

on the secondary stem; floral bract tubular, 5-6 mm long, green, dotted with
black; pedicel 6-18 mm long; ovary green, smooth, 7-8 mm long; sepals
shiny, glabrous, light yellow-green at the base to yellow-orange above, the
lateral sepals becoming white toward the apices, each sepal with 3 red stripes
and a yellow-green tail, the dorsal sepal obovate, 14 mm long, 6 mm wide,
connate to the lateral sepals for 9 mm into a sepaline tUbe, the triangular
free portion produced into a thick tail 18 mm long, the lateral sepals obliquely
oblong, 15 mm long, 5 mm wide, connate for 8 mm to form a shallow
mentum, the free portions ovate, the subactue apices produced into tails
similar to that of the dorsal sepal; petals white, marked with purple, oblong,
6 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, the truncate apex obscurely trilobed, with a thick
carina along the lower margin terminating in a large, obtuse, incurved and
retrorse process just above the unguiculate base; lip red-orange marked with
red, oblong-ligulate, 6 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, the subacute apex yellow, the
disc broadly and shallowly canaliculate between a pair of low, rounded, longitudinal
calli along either side, the shallowly cordate base hinged beneath to
the column-foot; column white, edged in purple, semiterete, 6 mm long, the
foot 3 mm long with a long, slender, incurved extension.
ETYMOLOGY: Named in honor of Helen Kuhn of Easton, Ct., who discovered
this species.
TYPE: BOLIVIA: SANTA CRUZ: without locality, collected by Helen Kuhn,
Aug. 1976, cultivated by J & L Orchids, Easton, Ct., flowered in cult. 4
March 1978, C. Luer 2784 (HOLOTYPE: SEL).
DISTRIBUTION: Bolivia.
Vegetatively inseparable from numerous allied species, the shiny, colorful,
tubular flower of Masdeuallia helenae is distinctive. The basic color of
yellow-orange merging to white on the free portions of the lateral sepals is
striped in red, and the thick, diverging tails are green to yellow. The oblong
petals are provided with a thick, incurved, posteriorly directed appendage at
the lower base. The simple, ligulate lip is longitudinally sulcate between low,
rounded calli.