''Masdevallia veitchiana'', (pronounced "veech-e-anna") also known as Veitch's masdevallia or king of the masdevallias, is an

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

species of the genus ''

Masdevallia ''Masdevallia'', abbreviated Masd in horticultural trade, is a large genus of flowering plants of the Pleurothallidinae, a subtribe of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). There are over 500 species, grouped into several subgenera. The genus is na ...

''. The plant is found in the wild near

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

and nearby areas in Peru, where it is known as ''gallo-gallo'', meaning "rooster" after the rooster-like red comb, crest and wattles of the flower. The plant was named in honour of

Harry Veitch Sir Harry James Veitch (24 June 1840 – 6 July 1924) was an English horticulturist in the nineteenth century, who was the head of the family nursery business, James Veitch & Sons, based in Chelsea, London. He was instrumental in establishing ...

, of the

Veitch Nurseries The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into ...

family, by whose plant-hunters it was discovered in 1867, and who imported, cultivated, and first flowered this species. Long considered the national treasure of Peru, it is rumoured to have been cultivated by the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

s centuries ago, who called the plant ''waqanki''.

Description

This cool to cold growing, large, terrestrial, sometimes

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...

or rarely

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

, tufted species with erect leaves is found at a height of between 2,000 and 4,000 metres, including around

in Peru, on steep rocky slopes covered with grasses and shrubs in full sun but with the leaves protected by the grass with short ramicauls enveloped by a series of tubular

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

with a linear-

oblanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

, tapered to the channelled petiolate base, acute, thick leaf that blooms in the spring and early summer with an erect, 39 to 44 cm. long, single flowered inflorescence carrying two distant, tubular bracts and a single inflated tubular, ovate floral bract with the long-lasting flowers held way above the leaves. The unequal colour distribution apparent in ''M. veitchiana'' is accorded to the presence of minute purple hairs on the sepals which lend a prismatic visual aspect to the flower. Viewed head-on with the light behind you, the colour is symmetrical. This species has orange flowers covered in a pattern of small purple hairs that create a kind of iridescence as the flower moves in the breezes. The blooms are very large, approximately 5 cm. X 15 cm.

Discovery

According to ''

Hortus Veitchii James Herbert Veitch F.L.S., F.R.H.S. (1 May 1868 – 13 November 1907), was a member of the Veitch family who were distinguished horticulturists and nursery-men for over a century. Early days James was born at Chelsea, London, the elder son o ...

'':

"Masdevallia Veitchiana was discovered in the lofty Andes of Peru by Pearce in 1866, and successfully introduced by him. A few years later it was re-discovered in the same locality by Walter Davis, who states that it grows in the crevices and hollows of the rocks with but little soil, at an altitude of 11,000-13,000 ft. It is a variable plant, the flowers differing in size, colour, and in the manner in which the papillae is spread over the inner surface of the sepals. A large-flowered form, grandiflora, may be distinguished by having the upper sepal densely and uniformly covered with purple papillae, while in the lateral two this covering is confined entirely to the outer half, the inner being of the purest orange-scarlet and destitute of papillae."

Cultivation

''Masdevallia veitchiana'' is an excellent plant for beginners and experienced growers alike. It grows quickly into a specimen plant and is quite spectacular when several flowers bloom together, usually between spring and summer. ''M. veitchiana'' prefers a cool, moist location but, like most orchids, requires good light to flower consistently. In poor light the flower stems tend to be weak, causing the flowers to droop. ''M. veitchiana'' prefers daytime temperatures from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and will tolerate evening low temperatures below 5 degrees. The plants will freeze, so care should be taken in times of severe frost or freezing temperatures.

Propagation

Because of extensive collection in the wild, ''M. veitchiana'' is rarely imported. It is, however, propagated quite easily both from seed and by division. The plants grow very vigorously and have a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

from which the thick, narrow leaves develop. This rhizome can be divided to create new plants with clumps of at least five to ten leaves per division. ''M. veitchiana'' has also been used extensively to create many hybrids with its distinctive orange color.

Gallery

Image:Masdevallia veitichiana (3).jpg, ''Masdevallia veitchiana''
plants

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Image:Masdevallia veitichiana (2).jpg, ''Masdevallia veitchiana''
flowers
Peru - Machu Picchu Image:Masdevallia veitichiana (4).jpg, ''Masdevallia veitchiana''
flower
Peru - Machu Picchu Image:Masdevalliaveitchiana.jpg, ''Masdevallia veitchiana''
flowers

References

External links

*
Masdevallia veitchiana on University of Connecticut websiteArticle in San Francisco Chronicle
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6782943 veitchiana Orchids of Colombia Orchids of Peru Veitch Nurseries Terrestrial orchids Epiphytic orchids