Masdevallia veitchiana 'Prince de Galles'
 
Flower Size: up to 20 cm
 
Found around Macchu Picchu in Cusco department of Peru on steep rocky slopes covered with grasses and shrubs in full sun but with the leaves protected by the grass occuring at elevations of 2000 to 4000 meters as a small sized, cold growing terrestrial, sometimes lithophytic or rarely epiphytic, tufted species with short ramicauls enveloped by a series of tubular bracts with an erect, linear-oblanceolate, tapered to the channeled petiolate base, acute, thick leaf that blooms in the spring and early summer with an erect, 12 to 19" [39 to 44 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence carrying 2 distant, tubular bracts and a single inflated tubular, ovate floral bract with the long-lasting flowers held way above the leaves.
 
Masdevallia, abbreviated Masd in horticultural trade, is a large genus of flowering plants of the Pleurothallidinae, a subtribe of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). 
 
These plants are found from Mexico to southern Brazil, but mostly in the higher regions (2,500-4,000 m) of the Andes of Ecuador and Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
 
 They may be epiphytes, terrestrials or growing as lithophytes on damp rocks.
 
The species are sensitive to inappropriate cultural conditions and will show signs of stress by leaf spotting or dropping. The rhizome should remain at the surface of the medium in order to prevent rot.
 
Most of these plants are from high altitude cloud forests and require very cool conditions and abundant moisture throughout the year. They cannot tolerate dryness, low humidity, or excessive temperatures. Many members of this genus from very high altitude cloud forests . The plant should be kept cool and moist all the time.
 
The plants should be provided with rain water or distilled water or a very pure water source. The medium should always remain moist as the plants do not have any significant storage structures like most orchids.
 
photo : CC 3.0 taken by Philipp Weigell