Masdevallia patriciana

We have more Masdevallia species than any other genus in our collection and one of the smallest and sweetest is this delightful miniature native to the cloud forests of Ecuador that fits comfortably into the palm of your hand.

Masdevallia patriciana is a tiny plant with leaves up to 3cm long and relatively large flowers held just clear of the leaves. As you can see, the flowers are very striking with their pink sepals and stiff yellow tails. The flowers are 3cm across the tails 

Masdevallia patriciana was first named as late as 1978 and you can see why the species may have been missed before. Its cloud forests home where it is reported from 2300 to 2800m is cool and wet throughout the year and so we grow the species low down in our cloud forests greenhouse (min12C) where it is protected from bright sun and high temperatures in the summer.  

In common with a lot of cloud forest orchids, Masdevallia patriciana is in active growth in the coolest months of the year and its little winter flowers are a real treat.