Sauvetrea sessilis
Sauvetrea sessilis (Lindl.) M.A.Blanco, Lankesteriana 7: 535. 2007.
Type: Ecuador. Loja. Hartweg, s.n. (holotype: K).
Illustrated specimen: Colombia. Santander: Municipality of La Belleza. Mountain pluvial forest, 2380 m. 28 May 2017. N. Gutiérrez M. 030 (JBB; LCDP voucher).
Etymology: From the Latin sessilibus, referring to the sessile leaves of this species.
The genus Sauvetrea (or section Trigonae, if treated as part of the genus Maxillaria) is in need of a thorough taxonomic revision. Sauvetrea sessilis (Lindl.) M.A. Blanco, originally described (as M. sessilis Lindl.) from a plant collected near Loja (Ecuador), is the best match for the plant illustrated here. Plants with this morphology are frequently misidentified as S. alpestris (Lindl.) Szlach., a species with smaller plants and flowers, originally described from the same general area. Sauvetrea sessilis is recognized by the relatively large flowers (4 to 6 cm wide) with greenish sepals tinged with red, the large labellum with a ligulate callus, erect lateral lobes with red veins, and a white midlobe. Note that the plant il- lustrated as M. sessilis in Christenson (2012, 2013) is different and probably represents an undescribed species of Sauvetrea.