Dracula (plant)

Dracula orchids
Dracula vampira
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Epidendreae
Subtribe: Pleurothallidinae
Genus: Dracula
Luer, 1978
Type species
Masdevallia chimaera (syn of Dracula chimaera)
Rchb. f.
Species

See text

The orchid genus Dracula, abbreviated as Drac in horticultural trade, consists of 118 species native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.[1] The name Dracula literally means "little dragon", an allusion to the mythical Count Dracula, a lead character in numerous vampire novels and films.[2][3] The name was applied to the orchid because of the blood-red color of several of the species, and the strange aspect of the long spurs of the sepals.[4] The plants were once included in the genus Masdevallia, but became a separate genus in 1978. This genus has been placed in the subtribe Pleurothallidinae.

  1. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Species
  2. ^ McNally, Raymond T.; Florescu, Radu R. (1994). In Search of Dracula, The History of Dracula and Vampires (Completely Revised ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-395-65783-0.
  3. ^ Stoker, Bram. 1897. Dracula. Archibald Constable and Company, Westminster.
  4. ^ Planet Arkive : Dracula orchid Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine