Again and again people ask for orchids with a monkey face. The human ability to recognize faces and familiar beings or objects in things and patterns (for example, in the clouds) is called pareidolia. The rudimentary (receding) lateral petals are reminiscent of the eyes, the column represents the nose, and the lip gives the impression of the mouth. What may remind us humans of monkeys is perceived by insects in nature as the mimicry of a fungus. The coloring of the flowers copies fruiting bodies of mushrooms, so Dracula are pollinated exclusively by tiny fruit flies that land on the flower for food. The hairs on the flowers then force them onto the right path for pollination to occur.
The genus Dracula was established as a separate genus in 1978 by botanist Carlyle A. Luer; the previously known species were assigned to the genus Masdevallia. The genus now includes about 135 epiphytic species distributed from southern Mexico to Peru, most of them growing in the cloud forests of the Andes. The name means small dragon, the based on Dracula chimaera described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. The 3 petals (elongated petals are said to remind of bats. Almost all Dracula species grow endemically, that is, their occurrence in nature is limited to one or very few locations with very little distribution.
The inflorescences grow hanging in the vast majority of cases and are 5 to 25cm long. The culture should be in an unfertilized substrate (Orchi-MIx fine) or Chile Sphagnum. The plants like a humid and shady location, in warm summers they may stand in water for a longer period of time. At flowering time it is recommended to hang the plants.
Once in bloom, most species can bloom for several weeks to months as new flowers continue to form on the stems. Changes of location during flowering are usually acknowledged by dropping the flower.
Fertilizing is very sparing or not at all, rainwater should be used as water if possible. With too much nutrients in the water the Dracula reacts with black spots on the leaves and leaf fall.
Draculas are herbaceous epiphytes that grow in dense moss cushions on trees, there they are regularly supplied with moisture from the clouds bouncing in front of the mountains, even in dry seasons.
Again and again people ask for orchids with a monkey face. The human ability to recognize faces and familiar beings or objects in things and patterns (for example, in the clouds) is called...
read more » Close window The Monkey Face Orchid
Again and again people ask for orchids with a monkey face. The human ability to recognize faces and familiar beings or objects in things and patterns (for example, in the clouds) is called pareidolia. The rudimentary (receding) lateral petals are reminiscent of the eyes, the column represents the nose, and the lip gives the impression of the mouth. What may remind us humans of monkeys is perceived by insects in nature as the mimicry of a fungus. The coloring of the flowers copies fruiting bodies of mushrooms, so Dracula are pollinated exclusively by tiny fruit flies that land on the flower for food. The hairs on the flowers then force them onto the right path for pollination to occur.
The genus Dracula was established as a separate genus in 1978 by botanist Carlyle A. Luer; the previously known species were assigned to the genus Masdevallia. The genus now includes about 135 epiphytic species distributed from southern Mexico to Peru, most of them growing in the cloud forests of the Andes. The name means small dragon, the based on Dracula chimaera described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach. The 3 petals (elongated petals are said to remind of bats. Almost all Dracula species grow endemically, that is, their occurrence in nature is limited to one or very few locations with very little distribution.
The inflorescences grow hanging in the vast majority of cases and are 5 to 25cm long. The culture should be in an unfertilized substrate (Orchi-MIx fine) or Chile Sphagnum. The plants like a humid and shady location, in warm summers they may stand in water for a longer period of time. At flowering time it is recommended to hang the plants.
Once in bloom, most species can bloom for several weeks to months as new flowers continue to form on the stems. Changes of location during flowering are usually acknowledged by dropping the flower.
Fertilizing is very sparing or not at all, rainwater should be used as water if possible. With too much nutrients in the water the Dracula reacts with black spots on the leaves and leaf fall.
Draculas are herbaceous epiphytes that grow in dense moss cushions on trees, there they are regularly supplied with moisture from the clouds bouncing in front of the mountains, even in dry seasons.
