Dracula orientalis Luer & R. Escobar 1982 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Dracula SERIES Grandiflorae-Parvilabiate Luer 1993
Photo by © Emmily 1955 and her Flickr Orchid Photo Website
Photo by © Lourens Grobler
Photo by © Patricia Harding
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer and Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV Luer 2002
Common Name The Eastern Dracula [The Easternmost Dracula]
Flower Size 1 1/4" [3 cm]
Found in Norte de Santander department of Colombia on the eastern cordillera in wet cloud forests at elevations around 2050 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing, epiphytic species that is found with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, thinly coriaceous, erect, carinate, very narrowly obovate, acute, gradually narrowed below into the base leaf that blooms in the spring on a slender, descending to horizontal, arising from low on the ramicaul, 4.8" to 6" [12 to 15 cm] long, successive single flowered inflorescence with a tubular, floral bract.
"Characterized by the long, narrow leaves, suborbicular, white sepals diffusedly dotted with dark purple brown and connate into a shallow cup and very long, slender tails. The round concave epichile of the lip contains primary lamella flanked by a few, irregular fragments of lesser lamellae." LUer 1993
This species is one of only seven Dracula species that occur on the eastern cordillera of Colombia, the other 6 are, D gerhardii, D vlad-tepes and D anthracina as well as D. vinacea and D. diabola in Boyacá and D. psittaccina in Cundinamarca
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orquideologia Vol 16 #1 1983 drawing fide; Thesaurus Dracularum Vol 5 Luer, Escobar and Dalstroem 1992 watercolor/drawing fide; The Illustratred Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon, 1992 photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV Luer 2002 drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 4 COS 1994 photo good; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; 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 as D cf orientalis photo ok; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing/photo fide;
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