Dracula vampira
Encyclopedia
Dracula vampira is an epiphytic
orchid species, endemic to Ecuador
.
s are rounded with the top corner pulled into a thin tail, which may extend up to 11 cm in length. Although green in colour, the sepals are covered by numerous blackish purple veins and the tails are almost completely black. The large sepals dwarf the petals and lip of the flower, which are white in colour and marked with purple and pinkish veins respectively. Dracula vampira is a large epiphyte
, meaning that it does not grow in soil, it has many stems; the erect leaves are between 15 and 28 cm long. The generic name of this species - Dracula means little dragon, named due to the exotic flower shape.
in South America being found only on the slopes of Mount Pichincha. It is found between 1900 and 2200 metres above sea level, where it is fairly locally abundant.
D. vampira does not grow in soil, instead it grows on the lower sections of trees on the forested mountainside; many plants may accumulate on damp, leaf litter.
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
orchid species, endemic to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Description
The orchid has large distinctive flowers; the sepalSepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s are rounded with the top corner pulled into a thin tail, which may extend up to 11 cm in length. Although green in colour, the sepals are covered by numerous blackish purple veins and the tails are almost completely black. The large sepals dwarf the petals and lip of the flower, which are white in colour and marked with purple and pinkish veins respectively. Dracula vampira is a large epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
, meaning that it does not grow in soil, it has many stems; the erect leaves are between 15 and 28 cm long. The generic name of this species - Dracula means little dragon, named due to the exotic flower shape.
Distribution
Dracula vampira is endemic to EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in South America being found only on the slopes of Mount Pichincha. It is found between 1900 and 2200 metres above sea level, where it is fairly locally abundant.
Ecology
As an epiphyteEpiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
D. vampira does not grow in soil, instead it grows on the lower sections of trees on the forested mountainside; many plants may accumulate on damp, leaf litter.