Orchid  (Dracula vampira)

Dracula vampira flower

Facts

Kingdom Plantae
Phylum Tracheophyta
Class Lilopsida
Order Orchidales
Family Orchidaceae (1)
Genus Dracula
Size Inflorescence length: up to 20 cm (2)

Status

Classified as Vulnerable on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (3), and listed on Appendix II of CITES (7).

Description

This magnificent orchid has large distinctive flowers; the sepals are rounded with the top corner pulled into a thin tail, which may extend up to 11 cm long (2). Although green in colour, the sepals are covered by numerous blackish purple veins and the tails are almost completely black (2). The large sepals dwarf the petals and lip of the flower, which are white in colour and marked with purple and pinkish veins respectively (2). Dracula vampira is a large epiphyte with many stems; the erect leaves are between 15 and 28 cm long (2). The generic name of this species seems very appropriate; 'Dracula' means 'little dragon', alluding to the exotic flower shape; the misty cloud forest where these orchids are found may also evoke images of Count Dracula (5).

Range

Endemic to Ecuador in South America, Dracula vampira is found only on the slopes of Mount Pichincha (2). It is found between 1,900 and 2,200 metres above sea level (4), where it is fairly locally abundant (2).

Habitat

These plants grow on the lower sections of trees on the forested mountainside; many plants may accumulate on damp, leaf litter (2).

Biology

As an epiphyte, this orchid does not obtain its nutrients from the soil but from the air around it (6).

Threats

The precise threats facing this species are currently unclear.

Conservation

This orchid is popular in cultivation for its extremely dramatic, large flowers (5).

Authentication

Authenticated (5/6/03) by Dr Phillip Cribb. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk

Glossary

Endemic: a species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
Epiphyte: a plant that uses another plant, typically a tree, for its physical support, but which does not draw nourishment from it.
Sepals: a floral leaf (collectively comprising the calyx of the flower) that forms the protective outer layer of a flower bud. (See http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ksheets/pdfs/flower.pdf for a fact sheet on flower structure).

References

  1. IUCN Red List (January, 2003)
    www.redlist.org
  2. Luer, C.A. (1993) Systematics of Dracula. Missouri Botanical Gardens.
  3. Walter, K.S. & Gillett, H.J. [eds] (1998) 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Compiled by the World Conservation Monitoring Center. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
  4. Jenny, R. (1997) Dracula vampira. Caesiana, 8: center page.
  5. Hermans, J. & Hermans, C. (1997) An Annotated Checklist of the Genus Dracula. Orchid Digest Corporation.
  6. Attenborough, D. (1995) The Private Life of Plants. BBC Books, London.
  7. CITES (May, 2003)
    www.cites.org