Amanda

           Amandae - amanda, tridens - 'lovely', 2 to many flowered raceme

           Fissae -picturata - 'cleft', sepal are free to near the base, single flowered

           Nidificae - nidifica, ventricosa - 'built like a nest', single flowered

           Ophioglossae - ophioglossa - "snake-Tongue", single white-flowered species

           Pygmaeae - erinacea, hoeijeri, pygmaea - 'dwarf


Masdevallia

          Amaluzae - naranjapatae, zahlbruckneri - Amaluza, Ecuador, successive flowering

          Aphanes - aphanes - 'obscure', small tailless flowers on a successive flowering raceme

         Caudivolvulae - caudivolvula - 'twisted tail', single thick flower with corkscrew tails

         Coriaceae

               Coriaceae (subsect) - angulata, caesia, civilis, coriacea, colossus, elephanticeps,
 peristeria - 'leathery', usually single flowering, occasionally successive flowering

               Durae (subsect) - ayabacana, dura, princeps - 'hard', rigid flowers

        Cucullatae - cuculata, macrura - 'hooded', has a hooded flower bract

        Ligiae - ligiae - named after Sra. Ligia Posada, found in her collection in 1982

        Masdevallia
                Caudatae(subsect) - asterotricha, caudata, discolor, decumana, instar, prodigiosa, triangularis, tricolor, wurdackii - 'with tails', exposed petals, lip, and column

                Coccineae (subsect) - amabilis, coccinea, davisii, ignea, rosea, veitchiana, welishii -'deep red to 
crimson', single flowered, petals/lip hidden in sepaline tube, wide lateral sepals
 
               Masdevallia (subsect) - agaster, chaparensis, datura, encephala, glandulosa, hirtzii, uniflora, 
yungasensis - similar to Caudatae w/out exposed petals and lip

               Oscillantes (subsect.) - andreettana, wagneriana - 'oscillating lip', loosely hinged lip 
 
               Saltatrices (subsect.) - ampullacea, angulifera, constricta, mendozae, strobelii ventricularia
 - 'a dancer', fused sepals form tube opening, ventricose sepaline tube 

              Tubulosae (subsect) - tubulosa - 'like a tube', small, single whitish, tubular flowers

Mentosae - mentosa - 'with a chin', successive flowering, smooth lip

Minutae -floribunda,livingstoniana, minuta, tonduzit - 'very small', successive flowering

Polyanthae

             Alaticaules (subsect) - bicolor, infracta, tovarensis, weberbaueri -'with a winged stem' 

             Polyanthae (subsect) - discoidea, lata, schlimii, thienii - 'many flowered'

Racemosae - racemosa -'racemose', simultaneous and successive flowering, like Masd. section 

Reichenbachianae

            Dentatae (subsect.) - macrogenia - 'tooth', petals have teeth 

            Reichenbachianae (subsect) - calura, reichenbachiana, rolfeana, schroederiana

- named in honor of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach, Hamburg Bot. Garden, no teeth on petals


Melegris- meleagris - 'a peacock', colorfully banded lateral sepal, separated sepals
 


Pelecaniceps - pelecaniceps - 'pelican-headed', tailless


Teagueia - teaguei - in honor of Walter Teague, discovered it in 1978, raceme



DESCRIPTIONS - from Miniature Orchids by Rebecca Tyson Northern


Masdevallias - The sepals are the most showy and conspicuous part of the flower as well
 as the most diverse. 'They are broad at the base, joined for part or nearly all of their length to
form a cup or tube, and often extended into tails (caudae). The petals and lip are tiny and contained
 within the cup or tube, sometimes hidden, sometimes exposed. They have two pollinia. The
 plants are epiphytic and have no pseudobulbs. The leaves grow close together from a creeping, 
branching rhizome. This allows many to reach specimen size quickly. The leaves are paddle-shaped.
 The base of the stem is surrounded by tubular bracts (sheaths). 'Flower stems come 
from the rhizome beside the leaves'.


Draculas - Dr. Luer moved the 'chimera' group from Masdevallia into this genus. The 
name means 'little dragon'. Many of them are odd-looking, furry, and have long tails. 'The plants differ
 from Masdevallia by having thin, keeled leaves that fold together at the base.' The flower petals 
'have divided tips or end in knobs, and a two-part, often mobile,' shell-shaped lip.


Dryadellas - Dr. Luer named this genus 'after the dryads, mythological nymphs of the 
trees and forests'. The plants differ from Masdevallia by 'having narrow, channeled, fleshy,
 leaves'. The flowers differ by having 'a transverse callus or thickened fold near the base, below which
 they are joined to form a chin or mentum below the column foot and the lip is long and tongue-like'. The 
flowers have a protective coloring and their buds are shaped like birds' heads giving them the
 nickname, 'partridge in the grass.

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 AOS JUDGING - the Pleurothallid scale is ideal for most Masdevallias.


Form (35pts.)		Color (35pts)            	Other Chars (30pts)
General form	-20	General color -20	Size of flower     -	10
Dorsal sepal	- 4	Dorsal sepal - 5	            Sub/texture     -	7
Lateral sepals	- S	Lateral sepals - 10	Habit/Arrangement -	5
Caudae	- 3		                                    Floriferousness    -	8 


It can be difficult to determine these factors because of the wide variety in the genus  As with all other genera, it is very important to know the characteristics of the species involved. Also, the petals, lip, and column are usually very small and insignificant. Their measurements are not stated in most award descriptions.