Fantastic looking, but as you say, in the eye of the beholder.
Thank you for posting these fantastically unusual orchid photos.

That is awe inspiring. It is going on my wish list. What's its size like?

I would call it large, leaves 2' long, flowers 8" tip to tip. Someone told me they saw it in the wild with 1' flowers. One thing I don't like about it is that it seems to bloom stretched out over 2 to 3 month. Last year it had a total of 25 flowers but never more than 6 or 7 in bloom at the same time. Some people like that because it's in bloom over a long period. I prefer the flush of 25 flowers at the same time. Right now it has 10 in bloom/bud. Seems to be improving.

Ecuagenera has it for $20.00. http://www.ecuagenera.com/epages/whitelabel4.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/ecuagenera/Products/PRS2611 You can order from them, they'll bring it to the US for their next show and then mail it to you from there. That way you don't need an import permit.

I could probably make a 3 bulb front division if you want to trade.

Nick

That flower is fantastic and has a lot of character but I don't think I have the space for the rest of the plant. Maybe one day I will get more space and I can add this one.

Thank you for the trade offer. That is very generous. I like the idea of trading divisions with others over selling them to others. Maybe we can trade another time.

I have never seen that before, probably because it's not Brazilian...

A Pleuro expert who frequently travels to Ecuador and Columbia started that he has seen this plant in Columbia with flowers over 12" tip to tip. I stated that I thought Maxillaria speciosa is the most beautiful Max (I just saw a spectacular specimen) but in his opinion Max fractiflexa deserved that recognition.

I have a large Max speciosa which has never bloomed for me, I'm going to start watering it with Holy Water. Speciosa, by the way has a high mortality when imported, few survive the transition. Andy has it but does not list it. You need to ask, expensive but will survive as his plants are established.

Nick