Dracula polyphemus (Luer) Luer 1878 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Dracula SERIES Dracula
Photo by © Manfred Schmucker, Plants grown by Akerne Orchids of Belgium
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer
Common Name The Cyclops Dracula
Flower Size 4" x 6" [10 x 15 cm]
Found in Pichinche and Imbabura provinces of Ecuador in cloud forest at elevations around 1400 to 2200 meters as a medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte from with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 loose, tubualar sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coriaceous, carinate, lightly plicate, elliptical acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate, indistinct petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter and spring on a purple, slender, horizontal to descending, 4 to 8" [10 to 20 cm] long, sparsely bracted, successively few flowered inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul with a tubular, shorter to as long as the pedicel floral bract.
"The large flowrs densely pubescent withi and densely spotted witha dark reddish brown are readily recognized by the unique white, lightly concave, transversely trapeziform lip. Luer 1993
Synonyms *Masdevallia polyphemus Luer 1978
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 1 Dodson 1993 photo fide; 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; 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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