Species library › Maxillaria › Maxillaria avis
Orchids Partly documented

Maxillaria avis

A Maxillaria of Andean montane forest in southern Ecuador and central Peru, recorded at about 2,060 to 2,570 m. Grow it cool to intermediate with bright filtered light, high humidity and good air movement, easing off watering slightly in the drier months.

Maxillaria avis
Photo: Xoteb by Alberto Mendoza, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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 Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Most records are from the Loja and Zamora region of southern Ecuador, with a few from central Peru. Like most montane Maxillaria it is probably an epiphyte on mossy trunks and branches in humid forest; species-specific habitat detail is thin.

Recorded at 2,060 to 2,568 m, median 2,400 m from 12 records.

EcuadorPeru

🔒 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

Grow Maxillaria avis? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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 CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.