Maxillaria ringens

Native from Mexico through Central America to Colombia and northern Brazil, this epiphytic orchid forms clumps of conspicuous, closely grouped pseudobulbs. Flowers arise from stalks at their bases. The narrow sepals are yellow toward the tips, and the petals range from pale yellow to whitish. Its white lip carries red or purple markings and a yellow callus with an orange tip. It grows in wet tropical forests. In Costa Rica, it is recorded on trees and decaying trunks from about 100 to 4,250 feet. Photographed in Colombia.