Maxillaria cucullata

An epiphytic, evergreen orchid producing a clump of small, oval-shaped, 9cm long and 1-3cm wide pseudobulbs. Each pseudobulb carries a single, 10-40cm long and 1-5cm wide leaf. Leaves are variable, linear or elliptic, rounded apically. In autumn and winter, flowering stems emerge from the axils of sheaths covering mature pseudobulbs. Each stem up may be 7-30cm long and carries single, yellow and brown, fragrant flowers. Each flower is 4-9cm large with darker, often almost black lip. Mature plants grown in optimal conditions often produce large numbers of flowering stems, flowering simultaneously.