| Dracula vampira | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Genus: | Dracula |
| Species: | D. vampira |
| Binomial name | |
| Dracula vampira | |
| Synonyms | |
Masdevallia vampiraLuer | |
Dracula vampira is an epiphytic orchid species, endemic to Ecuador. [2]
The orchid has large distinctive flowers; the sepals are rounded with the top corner pulled into a thin tail, which may extend up to 11 cm in length. Although green in colour, the sepals are covered by numerous blackish purple veins and the tails are almost completely black. The large sepals dwarf the petals and lip of the flower, which are white in colour and marked with purple and pinkish veins respectively. Dracula vampira is a large epiphyte, meaning that it does not grow in soil, it has many stems; the erect leaves are between 15 and 28 cm long. [3] The generic name of this species - Dracula means little dragon, refers to the flower resembling a hooded vampire. [4]
Dracula vampira is endemic to Ecuador in South America being found only on the slopes of Mount Pichincha. [3] It is found between 1900 and 2200 metres above sea level, [5] where it is fairly locally abundant. [3]
As an epiphyte D. vampira does not grow in soil, instead it grows on the lower sections of trees on the forested mountainside; many plants may accumulate on damp, leaf litter. [3] [6]
Dracula vampira was classified as Vulnerable on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants, [7] (although this status no longer applies [8] ) and listed on Appendix II of CITES, together with almost all orchids. [1] It is popular in cultivation for its extremely dramatic, large flowers. [4]
Restrepia, abbreviated Rstp in horticultural trade, is a small genus of 49 orchids in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), closely related to Pleurothallis. Named in honor of Don Jose Restrepo, it tends to be more showy than most other Pleurothallids. They are found primarily at higher altitudes in the cool, damp montane forests of the Andes and Venezuela, with some into Central America up to southern Mexico.
Stelis, or leach orchids, is a large genus of orchids, with perhaps 500 species. The generic name Stelis is the Greek word for 'mistletoe', referring to the epiphytic habit of these species. These mainly epiphytic plants are widely distributed throughout much of South America, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies and Florida.
The orchid genus Dracula, abbreviated as Drac in horticultural trade, consists of 118 species native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The name Dracula literally means "little dragon", an allusion to the mythical Count Dracula, a lead character in numerous vampire novels and films. The name was applied to the orchid because of the blood-red color of several of the species, and the strange aspect of the long spurs of the sepals. The plants were once included in the genus Masdevallia, but became a separate genus in 1978. This genus has been placed in the subtribe Pleurothallidinae.
Phragmipedium kovachii is an orchid species found to be new to science in 2001, native to the Andean cloud forests of northern Peru. A species with terrestrial habit and growing in clumps of several individuals, it displays showy pink to purple flowers up to 20 cm (8 in) wide. It is currently considered a critically endangered species by the IUCN, due to overcollection in the wild.
Anacamptis morio, the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid, is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East.
The ornamental orchid species Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica is native to certain islands of the Philippines. Its flowers are creamy white with transverse markings that resemble glyphs. Through hybridization, growers have successfully created flowers with different shapes and colors while retaining the glyphs. Since 1975, the species has been protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Restrepiella ophiocephala, commonly called the Snake's head restrepiella is an epiphytic orchid native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Florida. The epithet ophiocephala is derived from the Greek words ὄφις, ophis (snake) and κεφαλή, kephalē (head).
Dendrobium kingianum, commonly known as the pink rock orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It usually grows on rocks, rarely as an epiphyte, and has thin, spreading leaves and spikes of up to fifteen, usually pink flowers in late winter to spring. It is popular in Australian native horticulture and is a commonly cultivated orchid among Australian orchid species growers.
Crepidium, commonly known as 沼兰属 or spur orchids is a genus of about three hundred species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are evergreen, mostly terrestrial plants with short stems lying on the ground, two or more relatively large, pleated leaves and small, non-resupinate flowers with spreading sepals and petals. The genus is widely distributed in the tropics.
Cattleya maxima is a species of orchid in subfamily Epidendroideae found from Venezuela to Peru.
Dendrobium tetragonum, commonly known as the tree spider orchid, is a variable species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid endemic to eastern Australia. Tree spider orchids are unusual in having pendulous pseudobulbs that are thin and wiry near the base then expand into a fleshy, four-sided upper section before tapering at the tip. There are only a few thin but leathery leaves at the end of the pseudobulbs and up to five flowers on relatively short flowering stems. To allow for the variations in the species there are five subspecies and a variety, some with a unique common name.
Dracula cordobae is a species of orchid found in the montane cloud forest of south western Ecuador at elevations of 750 to 1000 meters.
Dracula diabola is a species of orchid that only grows in a single valley in the Boyacá Department, northeast of Bogotá, Colombia. Its specific epithet, diabola, comes from diabolus, the Latin word for devil. The plant is an epiphyte growing at an altitude of 2200–2600 m in the Eastern Cordillera.
Vanda sanderiana is a flower of the orchid family. It is commonly called Waling-waling in the Philippines and is also called Sander's Vanda, after Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a noted orchidologist. The orchid is considered to be the "Queen of Philippine flowers" and is worshiped as a diwata by the indigenous Bagobo people.
Epidendrum sophronitisLinden & Rchb.f. (1857) is a small Epidendrum orchid that bears a superficial resemblance to a Sophronitis, as the generic epithet was used prior to the year 2000.
Dracula wallisii is a species of orchid belonging to the genus Dracula. The species is found at altitudes of 1,600 to 2,600 m in Cordillera Central, Colombia. It is a common species, with large flowers that are often highly variable in form.
Masdevallia goliath is a species of epiphytic orchid native to northeastern Peru and southeastern Ecuador but is cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere. It grows in nature in cloud forests at elevations over 1500 m.
Acianthus exiguus, commonly known as tiny mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to five translucent greenish-white flowers with pinkish markings and is found growing in forests on the north coast of the state.
Corybas fordhamii, commonly known as the banded helmet orchid or swamp helmet orchid, is a species of terrestrial orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has an egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaf and a reddish to reddish purple flower which leans forward. It is similar to C. unguiculatis which does not grow in swamps and has a different labellum.
Thelymitra cucullata, commonly called the swamp sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single narrow leaf and up to ten small, greenish cream-coloured to white flowers with purple blotches and which quickly droop after they have been fertilised.
This article incorporates text from the ARKive fact-file "Dracula vampira" under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GFDL .
Media related to Dracula vampira at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Dracula vampira at Wikispecies