Masdevallia ampullacea 'Connor' CHM/AOS

This plant was awarded at our annual show last week (pictures of that to follow).  There were, I think, four awards given to three plants.  This was given a Certificate of Horticultural Merit by the American Orchid Society, an award given to "well-grown and well-flowered species or natural hybrid with characteristics that contribute to the horticultural aspects of orchidology, such as aesthetic appeal."  The award is provisional, since the identity of the plant has to be confirmed by a a panel of experts who serve the American Orchid Society in that capacity.  I was also informed that species is quite rare, growing on only one mountainside in Ecuador.  The plant was awarded as Masdevallia aurea but later identified as Masdevallia ampullacea.

More pictures including some close-ups of the flowers can be found on a previous blog post:  http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2011/05/masdevallia-aurea.html.