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Masdevallia section Durae, or Regalia
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By Tindomul at 2010-02-12 00:33
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 lease excuse the lack italics on scientific names. For some reason I could not write in italics in publishing the article on Orchid Board. Masdevallia, Durae and species epithets should be in Italics, not the hybrid grex. Thank you.
Over the last 100 years the genus Masdevallia has grown to include well over 300 accepted species. I, as an orchid grower, have found a vast array of choices of plants from this genus. It was an overwhelming decision as to which plants to try to grow, almost to the point that I was going to give up on trying to grow any members of the genus. I figured I would leave the ‘Masdies’ to the experts, but then I realized that experts were not born so. I decided to boldly go and try my novice hand at growing some species Masdevallia. As I searched through the finite web-pages of vendors, and ebay, and looked through books I found myself trying to find species that were warm or warm tolerant. At first I was disappointed at so few choices available, but with over 300 known species, there had to be a group of species, probably closely related to each other, that would be spectacular in looks and tolerant of unnatural conditions. At long last I did find what I was looking for, and I fell in love. In an attempt to further my own knowledge of this small section or newly named genus, within the Masdevallia super group, I would like to introduce the reader to Section Durae of Masdevallia, or the genus Regalia. Both names seem to be currently used as synonyms. While author and taxonomist Dr. Carlyle Luer separates the section Durae from the rest of Masdevallia as the genus Regalia, just as he has done with most other species in the genus Masdevallia, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew does not yet accept the name, but rather treats it as a synonym of Masdevallia. The Royal Horticultural Society also does not yet use Regalia. For the purposes of simplicity, especially when dealing with hybrids, I will continue with the use of the original genus name rather than Regalia.
Section Durae consists of some of the most spectacular orchids known, and counted among the most beautiful of Masdevallias. The species epithet names reflect the reverence that the experts held for the members of this genus. Even though I have never seen a blooming member of this group in person, the photographs of the species and their hybrids have made me an obsessive fan of them. Only ten species make up this small group, but many if not all are currently available to the collector for cultivation. The species of this group are known for having strong leathery, showy sepals with tails (sepaline tails), and thick callous petals (petals with hard thickenings, giving it the appearance of having a large bump or more). You must realize that as in all Masdevallia, the sepals are the showiest parts of the flower. The petals have been reduced in size almost down to equaling the length of the column (reproductive organ or orchids) and are therefore not as showy, but have two nectarines at the base of the lip. The species of this section are also known for having successively flowering inflorescences, an inflorescence being all the flowers produced by a plant at one time, which could be one flower or many. The peduncles for this group (flower stems) are round.
Just as in so many species of the Masdevallia group, those in the section Durae also have connate sepals, that is to say the two lateral or lower sepals are fused. The colours of the species are impressive on their own ranging from, red, dark red, purple, orange, yellow, and usually incorporating multiple colours per species per flower. The patterning is very elegant and attractive, having multiple lighter coloured regions giving the flowers a royal appearance. The flowers are also, with the exception of one species, very large and long lasting as hinted by the fleshy and coriaceous nature of the flowers. From this point on I will attempt to discuss and highlight the beauty of each of the species and some hybrids containing orchids of the section Durae. All plant photographs are obtained with permission of the photographer.
Masdevallia ayabacana Luer, named after Ayabaca Peru, is known to be locally abundant (abundant but constrained to one small geographic area) in Chanchamayo valley Peru. It was first collected in 1978, at which point, along with M. dura, the section Durae was officially recognized. This is a species with beautifully large, dark red to purple fleshy flowers, with a yellow to orange lip. The flower lacks hairs except for some fine hairs present deep inside. The flower is borne on a long peduncle which can bloom successively. The peduncle can be in an upright position or pendulant for flowering. For lovers of Masdevallias that are large, red to purple and long lasting, and can be grown in intermediate to warm conditions, this will surely be a good fit. This is a popular species used as a parent in no less than 19 registered primary and secondary hybrids!
Masdevallia dura Luer, is a hard to come by species, but can be imported. It is the type species for the section, which means that all other species that are to be placed in the section must match many of the characteristics this one has. It was discovered but not officially recognized in 1884. This species is a cool grower, being found in cloud forests above 3,000 meters in Ecuador near the Peruvian border. The flowers are especially hard and rigid, and produced on pendant peduncles, forming racemes. A raceme, botanically speaking, is a type of inflorescence formed by a flower stalk (in this case a peduncle) with the flowers attached to the peduncle by a pedicel (their own stalk). Like its relatives, it is successively flowered, but can be many flowered. The flower is more tubular in form than others of this section, but the tubular section is still short. The sepaline tails are tipped with yellow, while the sepals are purple with darker purple spots. If you have the conditions to grow it, I would not hesitate to do so even though it may not be as showy as the other species in the section.
Masdevallia goliath Luer & Andreetta, is found both in Ecuador and Peru, a far distance apart. This could mean that either the species can be found in the areas in between, or its range was once much larger than it is now. The species is found in cloud forests of much lower altitude than its sister species M. dura, at 1700 meters, as well as in the Amazon basin of Peru. This wide range of habitats should give the species flexible growing conditions and make the species suitable for hobbyists that can’t guarantee intermediate conditions all year long. The sepals are dark red-purple, mostly smooth, but have some glands and a few hairs near the center. The sepaline tails have a beautiful green to orange hue. The two lower or lateral sepals, being connate are called the synsepal (as in many species of Masdevallia). The synsepal is slightly concave giving it a flatter appearance than its sister species.
Masdevallia newmaniana Leuer & Teague, was first cultivated by Dan Newman in San Francisco. In my research I came across Gary Meyer who has worked with Dan Newman. He explained to me that the plant that was collected was virused before it was distributed to vendors and cultivators. I believed I was sold M. newmaniana last year (I can’t recall the vendor though). Two possibilities can explain this. Either I was sold an incorrectly named plant, or the plant has been collected from the wild a second time making it available to the public again. In either case, as of right now, it is extremely difficult to obtain the species if not impossible.
It is found in Ecuador in low altitudes in the same regions as M. goliath and M. titan. The flowers are extremely similar to those found in M. goliath with the exception of reduced size both in growth habit and flower, and longer more slender sepaline tails. The inflorescence is a few flowered raceme.
Masdevallia panguiënsis Luer & Andreetta, was collected in the early 1980’s in cloud forests at 1500 meters and later on at lower elevations. This species is found only in Southeastern Ecuador making it endemic to the region. The plant is smaller in size than M. goliath and M. titan, and the sepaline tails are much shorter, and the flower is dark purple. The dorsal sepaline tail becomes yellow at the tip. This species is used in no less than eight registered hybrids.
Masdevallia princeps Luer, is a large species that has been available since 1980. It is used in no less than ten hybrids. This is actually the species that started my fascination with the group. I found it at one of the better known vendor’s websites and instantly knew this one was for me. It’s a tough plant that I was able to propagate by cutting (my first time doing that with a Masdevallia). I find it tolerates my growing conditions (intermediate temps, low humidity), and so should prove versatile to the hobbyist. It has been found in the Amazon regions of Peru indicating a tolerance of at least intermediate temperatures.
The peduncle on this species is ascending, giving rise to large orange, purple-spotted flowers with a few minute hairs. The sepaline tails are long and have a sudden reflexed form in the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are connate to form a synsepal, as in many of these species. They are curved almost to the point of forming a circular synsepal. A conical indentation is present almost forming a tube just below the petals.
Masdevallia regina Luer, is most closely related to M. princeps. M. regina differs in that the sepaline tails are extended. The colour of the flowers is yellow to orange with dark purple spots. The spots form rows of bars toward the center were an indentation is formed that is almost circular. This species was collected in the same regions as M. princeps. The species epithet refers to it being the queen of Masdevallias, while its sister species M. princeps is the chief of Masdevallias referring to its large flowers.
Masdevallia robusta Luer, has rarely or never been available to cultivation, as collectors of this group have never seen the species for sale. This species is supposed to be from Ecuador, but no collection data is available. Dr. Carlyle Luer describes the species as being large, with dark purple flowers. The tube formed by the sepals (sepaline tube) is non-gibbous, meaning it has no convex shape forming a circle as in the other species mentioned above. The petiole of the leaf is significantly more narrow than in its sister species.
Masdevallia titan Leur,is named for its large size referring to the giant titans of Greek myth. It comes from the Amazon basin of Peru, which should make it a tough species in terms of exposing it to intermediate to slightly warm temperatures. It is very similar to M. goliath, and can be distinguished by the synsepal that forms an almost 90 degree angle from the dorsal sepal. The plant and flowers are larger than in M. goliath. The sepals are dark red to brown, mostly smooth with a few hairs near the center where it becomes deeply concave in contrast to M. goliath.
Masdevallia utricularia Luer, is different from the rest of the species in this group and might be the ‘missing link’ between section Durae and section Coriaceae. This species is found in Panama far from its Ecuadorian and Peruvian sister species. This gives the section a disjunct distribution, meaning the range of the group of species is not continuous. This could mean that the group once occupied a larger range but scientists will have to research to find the answer. The only character to set it apart form Coriaceae is that it is successively flowered on its raceme, like the others from this group Durae. The peduncle is borne horizontally rather than upright. The name, meaning bladder or bladder like, might be in reference to the marginal folds at the base of the lip. The dorsal sepal has a long yellow to green tail, and a short blade (wide part of the sepal). The lateral sepals are yellow and heavily studded with dark red spots. The plant and flowers are much smaller than the other species discussed here, and is different from them also in that the lateral sepals lack tails.
The species mentioned above are among some of the longest lasting, largest and showiest of the Masdevallia group. Its small distribution is probably what kept them unknown to science and horticulture until 1978. Since their discovery, many of the species have been grown easily and hybridized well. Their showy nature and flexible requirements in terms of temperature make them an attractive group to Masdevallia growers, and they certainly won me over. Since writing this article, I have purchased six plants, three species from this group and three of the hyrbids listed below. For your enjoyment I will include a list and pictures of the hybrids derived from species in section Durae in Masdevallia.
There are 39 registered hybrids listed below. You can find them at the International Orchid Register at the Royal Horticultural Society website. At this time, the genus Regalia is not recognized by them pending updates or a final decision by the scientific community. The parent species are listed in the following order; Seed Parent (parent that makes the seed), then Pollen Parent (parent that donates the pollen for fertilization). Parent species or hybrid in bold indicates the species or hybrid of interest in this paper.
References:
Gerritsen, M. E. & R. Parsons, 2005. Masdevallias, Gems of the Orchid World. Timber Press Inc., Portland Oregon.
Luer, C. A. 2000. ICONES PLEUROTHALLIDINARUM XXI Systematics of Masdevallia Part two. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Sarasota, FL. Eds. V. C. Hollowell
O’Shaughnessy, L. 2010. The Pluerothallid Alliance website, http://www.pluerothallids.com/The_Pleurothallid_Alliance.htm
Stearn, W. T., 2004. Botanical Latin, Fourth Ed. Timber Press Inc. Portland Oregon.
Thoerle, L. 2007. Masdevallia and Affiliates. The Pleurothallid Alliance & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Sarasota, FL.
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