Dracula mantissa Luer & R. Escobar 1979 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Costatae
Photo by © Scott Wilson
Photo by © Chad Sarles
Common Name The Little Value Dracula [refers to the small flowers]
Flower Size .3" [7.5 mm]
Found in Narino department of Colombia and Pichincha and Imbabura provinces of Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations of 1800 to 2000 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 loose tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coriaceous, carinate, very narrowly obovate, acute, gradually narrowing below into the base leaf that blooms in the winter on a slender, horizontal, arising from low on the ramicaul, sparsely bracted, 2 to 3.2" [5 to 8 cm] long, single or successively 2 flowered inflorescence with a tubular, floral bract.
This species may have the smallest flower in the genus. Related to Dracula felix but distinguished by the much smaller flower and they do not produce copious capsules like D felix." Luer 1993
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 drawing/photo fide; Thesaurus Dracularum Vol 5 Luer, Escobar and Dalstroem 1992 watercolor/drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 1 Dodson 1993 Drawing fide; Orchid Digest Vol 61 #4 1997 photo fide; Libro Rojo de Plantas De Colombia Vol 6 Primera Parte Saenz 2007; Draculas Del Ecuador Pupulin, Merino and Medina 2009 photo fide; Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing fide;
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