Dracula

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Dracula (lat. Dracula) - a genus of herbaceous epiphytic plants with a unique flower structure, belonging to the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). It seems that the Almighty, before creating various living creatures on Earth, trained on the orchids of the Dracula clan, how to create the face or muzzle of this living creature, paying special attention to the eyes, which should become a mirror of an immortal soul. Funny, cheerful, sad or even mournful faces look at us through the eyes of the flowers of the family.

What's in your name

The Latin name "Dracula" was given to the genus by botanists, who were greatly impressed by the flowers of plants that have the shape of the muzzle of mythical dragons, which have been in great esteem among humans throughout the centuries.

There are several translations of the word "Dracula": "dragon", "little dragon" or "son of a dragon", and, in the Russian version, the name of the genus "Dracula" refers to a feminine noun.

The first description of the plants of the genus was made by the most famous connoisseur of orchids of the 19th century in Germany, botanist Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (03.01.1823 - 06.05.1889). Having seen one of the plants of this genus for the first time, Heinrich Reichenbach was so delighted with this miracle of nature that he could not believe in the reality of a plant that for thousands of years hid its charm from people in the wild thickets of the American tropics.

Description

In the wild, plants of the genus Dracula, being epiphytic plants, live on trees in the tropical forests of Central and South America, characterized by high humidity. Since they are located not too high above the ground (no more than 3 meters), or even right at the base of the tree, they are accustomed to a low level of illumination. Due to the fact that these forests grow on mountain slopes, at an altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, plants are accustomed to low temperatures.

Epiphytic plants of the genus have a shortened rhizome, which replaces the absence of the usual pseudobulbs in plants of this genus. A short stem with belt-like long green leaves of different shades of green is born from the rhizome. The function of the absent pseudobulbs is sometimes performed by leaves with a spongy structure.

Straight or slightly drooping flower stalks of plants, as a rule, bear single flowers, which differ in different species in their shape and color of flower petals. But there is one element in the structure of a flower that unites all types of plants in the genus. This element is three sepals. At the base of the flower, they are connected to each other so that a bowl with elongated tentacles is obtained from the outgrowths (tips) of sepals, often covered with hairs.

Spindle-shaped numerous small seeds complete the vegetation cycle of plants.

Varieties

According to some reports, the genus Dracula unites 123 species of epiphytic orchids in its community. Here are a few of them:

* Beautiful Dracula (lat. Dracula bella)

* Dracula Amalia (lat. Dracula amaliae)

* Dracula Aphrodite (lat. Dracula aphrodes)

* Dracula Diana (lat. Dracula diana)

* Dracula Gorgona (lat. Dracula gorgona)

* Dracula chimera (lat. Dracula chimaera) - the first species described by Heinrich Reichenbach

* Dracula vampira (lat. Dracula vampira).

Usage

The many-sided beautiful and unique flowers of plants of the Dracula genus conquered the hearts of flower growers, taking a worthy place in greenhouses, as well as as indoor plants.

Plants do not like conditions that are drastically different from those in which they grow in the wild. Therefore, for successful growth, they need partial shade or shade, high air humidity, up to 90 percent, and a rather cool temperature: no more than 25 degrees Celsius in summer, about 15 degrees in winter.