Dracula lehmanniana Luer & R.Escobar 1982 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Dracula SERIES Grandiflorae-Parvilabiate Luer 1993
Photo by © Lisa Thoerle
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer
Common Name or Meaning Lehmann's Dracula [German Orchid Collector in Colombian Andes late 1800's]
Flower Size 3" [7.5 cm]
Found only in the department of Cauca in southwestern Colombia in cloud forests at elevations around 1800 meters as a small to medium 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, slightly plicate, elliptical, acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate, subpetiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring and summer on a horizontal then ascending to erect, with the successively few flowers facing downwards and the 12 to 14" [30 to 35 cm] long, racemose inflorescnece arising from near the base of the ramicaul and is sparsely bracted with tubular,shorter thanthepedicel floral bracts.
"The large, flat flower with narrow, acute, outstretched, similar sepals is borne on an ascending peduncle to face downward with the white lip hanging from the center. The flowers are extremely sensitive to an increase in temperature or a decrease in humidity. The sepals begin to collapse immediately when a plant is moved to a lighter place (not sunlight) as was witnessed when an attempt was made to photograph the flower. The sepals soon dangle limply along the peduncle, but they promptly regain their original turgor when the flower is immersed in cool water. The only other species [at the time] of Dracula with narrow similar sepals is Dracula spectrum but the habit and shape of the lip easily separate the two." Luer 1982
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Selbyana 7(1): 66. Luer 1982; Thesaurus Dracularum Vol 6 Luer, Escobar and Dalstroem 1993 watercolor/drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 4 COS 1994 photo fide; Libro Rojo de Plantas De Colombia Vol 6 Primera Parte Saenz 2007 photo fide; 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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