Masdevallia tridens

Native to western Colombia and western Ecuador, this miniature perennial epiphytic orchid grows in cool cloud forests. Its short stems carry single elliptical, leathery leaves on slender leaf stalks. Small flowers about half an inch across open together in close clusters on curved stalks that can reach eight inches long. Flowering occurs in late winter and early spring. In Ecuador, it grows between about 5,900 and 8,900 feet. Photographed in Panama.