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Species library › Masdevallia › Masdevallia caloptera
Orchids Well documented

Masdevallia caloptera

Masdevallia caloptera is a small cool-growing Andean species from Ecuador and Peru, valued for inflorescences that carry several white, purple-spotted flowers at once. The Ecuadorian record sits at about 2450 m in the northern Andes, where days are 18-21 C and nights 9-10 C all year; it needs cold nights, high humidity and moving air.

Masdevallia caloptera
Photo: Florence H. Woolward (illustrator); B.S. Marquess of Lothian (editors), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Epiphyte on mossy trunks and branches in high montane cloud forest and forest edges of the Andes, in bright shade with near-daily mist.

The recorded site is at about 2450 m in northern Ecuador (Carchi-Imbabura); the species is generally reported from the upper cloud-forest belt around 2000-3000 m.

EcuadorPeruCarchiImbabura

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.