Dracula gigas (Luer) Luer 1978 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Dracula SERIES Grandiflorae-Parvilabiate Luer 1993
Flower Closeup lip and column detail
Photos by © Milan Vágner
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer
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Common Name The Gigantic Dracula
Flower Size 4" [10 cm]
Found in Valle de Cauca department of Colombia and Carchi province of Ecuador in virgin cloud forests at elevations of 1700 to 2600 meters as a medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3, loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coriaceous, carinate, narrowly elliptical, acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate, indistinct, petiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring, summer and fall on a purple, stout, erect sometimes horizontal, 2' [60 cm] long, successively few flowered, racemose inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul with tubular floral bracts and produces large, single flowers in procession.
"Characterized by the robust habit that produces large, light pinkish brown flowers on long, suberect peduncle. Pale forms have been mistaken for Dracula hawleyi . The forst flower is always larger than the subsequebnt flowers. The pink orbicular epichile of the lip contains tall, radiating lamellae." Luer 1993
Synonyms *Masdevallia gigas Luer 1978
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Phytologia 39: 204 -205) Luer 1978 as Masdevallis gigas AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 photo fide; The Illustratred Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon, 1992; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; ; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 1 Dodson 1993 photo ok; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchid Digest Vol 61 #4 1997 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 65 No 6 2000 photo; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005 photo fide; Libro Rojo de Plantas De Colombia Vol 6 Primera Parte Saenz 2007 photo fide; Draculas Del Ecuador Pupulin, Merino and Medina 2009 photo fide; Draculas Del Ecuador Pupulin, Merino and Medina 2009 as D gigas fma xanthina photo fide; Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 76 #2 2012 photo fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 79 #1 2015 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #1 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #10 2016 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing fide;
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