Dracula cutis-bufonis Luer & R. Escobar 1978 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Chestertonia
Photo by © Eric Hunt
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer
Common Name The Toad Skin Dracula [refers to the warty sepals]
Flower Size 1.8" [4.5 cm]
Found in Antioquia department of Colombia on the central cordillera in cloud forests at elevations around 1800 to 2600 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte and terrestrial with stout, erect ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3, loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coriaceous, carinate, lightly plicate, elliptical, acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate petiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring, summer and fall on a slender, purple, horizontal to descending, arising from low on the ramicaul, 3.2 to 8" [8 to 20 cm] long, congested, successively several flowered inflorescence with tubular, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.
" Similar to Dracula chestertonii but ditinguished by the slightly smaller lip with the epichile acutely deflexed on the hypochile which is flexibly hinged to the column foot so tht the lip oscillates from the center of the pendent flower. The multiple, small, purple warts on the light greenish brown sepals are reminiscent of the skin of a toad. The large epichile of the lip od D cheatertonii is not deflexed on the hypochile which is rigidly fixed to the column foot." Luer 1993
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Orquideologia Vol 13 No 1 1978 drawing/photo/herbarium sheet fide; Thesaurus Dracularum Vol 2 Luer, Escobar and Dalstroem 1989 watercolor/drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide; The Illustratred Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon, 1992; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; 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 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing/photo fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 81 #2 2017 photo fide;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
