Dracula gorgona (Veitch) Luer & R. Escobar 1978 SUBGENUS Dracula SECTION Dracula SUBSECTION Dracula SERIES Dracula
Photos by © Jay Pfahl
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photo by © Patricia Harding
Drawing by © Carl Luer
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Common Name The Gorgona Dracula [Mythical Greek Monster]
Flower Size 6" [15 cm]
Found in Risaralda, Choco and Caldas departments of Colombia in cloud forests at elevations of 1800 to 2500 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing Colombian epiphytic species that is found on the western cordillera with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3, loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coricaeous, carinate, elliptical, acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate, indistinct, petiolate, base leaf that blooms in the winter and spring on a stout, horizontal to descending, arising from low on the ramicaul, 4" [10 cm] long, loose, successively several flowered inflorescence with tubular, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.
"The coarsely pubescent sepals are large and round, yellowish white and densely and diffusely spotted with purple-brown except on the inner halves of the lateral sepals where the spots are usually lightly concentrated. Superficially the flower is most similar tp Dracula wallisii but differ in the spelas being rounder and abruptly contracted, instead of tapering into the tails, The most distinctive feature is the shape of the shallowly concave, flexibly hinged lip. The lateral margins are curved up but neither incurved or involute." Luer 1993
Synonyms Masdevallia chimaera var. gorgona H.J.Veitch 1889; Masdevallia gorgona Veitch 1889
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Selbyana 2: 195 Luer 1978; Orquideologia Vol 13 No 1 1978 photo/ drawing/herbarium sheet fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 photo fide; Thesaurus Dracularum Vol 2 Luer, Escobar and Dalstroem 1989 watercolor/drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide; The Illustratred Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon, 1992 photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum X Systematics of Dracula Luer 1993 drawing fide; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchid Digest Vol 61 #4 1997 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 65 No 6 2000 photo; Australian Orchid Review Vol 69 No 5 2004 photo; Libro Rojo de Plantas De Colombia Vol 6 Primera Parte Saenz 2007 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 72 No 4 2008 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 2 2008 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 #5 2008 photo fide; AOS Bulletin vol 78 No 10 2009 photo fide;
Orquideologia Vol 28 #2 2011 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #12 2011 photo fide;
Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula
Dracula gorgona var xanthina
Photo by © Eric Hunt
A yellow flower color form of the preceding species
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 # 7 1979 photo fide Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 as D gorgona var xanthina photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 69 No 5 2004 photo; Orchid Digest Vol 72 No 4 2008 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 11 2008 photo fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #2 2016 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 photo fide;
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