Smithsonian Gardens

Common name: Donald Dod's Maxillaria

Family: Orchidaceae subfam. Epidendroideae (Orchid)

Synonym: Ornithidium donaldeedodii

Distribution: Haiti

Habitat: Montane

Life form: Epiphytic

Bloom characteristics: Short inflorescence has a single orange flower. Flower is .4" (1 cm) across.

Bloom Time (northern hemisphere): Spring

Description: This miniature orchid quietly sat in a greenhouse for decades, until finally being written up as a new species in 2011. First collected by meticulous orchidologist Donald Dod in the mid-1980s, the orchid refused to flower. Although Dod thought it might be a new species, without a flower, it was almost impossible to be sure. In the 2000s, it was transferred to the botanic garden of UC Berkley and finally flowered. At last it was revealed that this plant, from one of the last orchid-rich regions of Haiti, was a new species.