A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Dracula inexperata
This is a very rare orchid species, discovered in 1999. Only 3 plants are known growing ex situ, and only a couple of them are known happening on the wild. Each flower is 6cms across.
Low premontane wet forest at Tapanti, Costa Rica, 1.200 meters high, a place with 8.000 mm of rain a year.
27 Comments (1–25)
wow
Good spotting
Fantástica orquídea que forma y colores...!!! agregala a la mission Orchids of the World
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/9...
Sad and maddening Daniel. Why do most plant conservation regs. seem to have been made with no understanding or interest in conserving plants?! CITES is unworkable and riddled with corruption. The CBD is a noble principle but seems to end up giving Governments an over inflated view of the monetary value of a lot of their biodiversity which stymies scientists from doing practical conservation. Desirable plants like this MUST be commercialised, especially when so many Dracula spp. seem to have an extremely limited range. I thought that Lankester had a Millennium Seed Bank partnership, but I guess I dreamt that one. I would think the lack of expertise with in-vitro prop. in CR is surmountable, with some help from outside the country, though.
Imagine if one of these orchids holds a secret, a cure for a disease or....?
CRAIG , regulations about orchids and wildlife in CR are almost extreme, and useless at the same time. I should ask the Pope for a permission to propagate it (I should explain where from and how I got the plant, and of course give them the locality), even when I have to use my own found$ to finance my conservationist project (no one in CR has expertise in reproducing pleurothallidinae in vitro and legally it is impossible to export the plant for propagating issues). When I finally got it propagated in CR, if ever, I could not sell them locally, and I could not either try reintroduce them on their original location =/
Nice one! I have a love for orchids and always wanted a Dracula orchid to add to my collection. Because they are so rare in their natural environment, as Peter said above, they are a bit pricey to buy ... was only luck enough to get a Masdevillia "inca snow" and "golden", both very pretty, but not as unusual and intriguing as the Dracula!
I am thinking of posting my pics of the orchids i grew in my little indoor greenhouse. Does that count as a legitimate posting to Project Noah? If you have a plant growing indoors in a "collection"? ... or is that cheating posting pics of orchids grown in "captivity"? ;-) What does everyone think? ~Greg B.~
congrats
Nice info shared by Peter...!!
Amazing Dracula and story Daniel. Very glad you're keeping the localities under wraps. Can you expand on the last statement though? I don't really understand why you wouldn't set seed for these and prop them. At the very least, there should be some banked somewhere, surely?
Congrats Daniel!
Lovely spotting and congratulations.
Lovely!
Spotting of the Day
"The Dracula orchid is a very rare orchid species, discovered in 1999. Only a couple of them are known growing in the wild."
http://facebook.com/projectnoah/posts/17...
http://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/12...
I love orchids, and this one is beautiful as well as very rare. Cherish it. :)
You are indeed very lucky to possess this rare orchid.
wow, nice shot!
This country is full with orchids and these one is very beautiful
This is so beautiful!
Amazing orchid
Congrats spotting of the day
Lovely!
Welcome to Project Noah Daniel!
Daniel, agregué una fotos de orquídeas cuando tengas tiempo me podrías dar ideas de las especies.....
Nice
AT thie wild it would be almost impossible to make this shot. The blooming stalks are very large and thin and the flowers move A LOT.
THIS one is grown at my home, under supervision of Lankester Botanical Garden staff, who grow the plant number 2 and 3. I keep in secret the places where other individuals are growing in the wild because National Park authorities seem not to care care enough of such a rare orchid happening.
At this moment, because of excesive regulations and lack of institutional interest, it is not possible to consider trying to reproduce this species in vitro , for both reintroduction to the wild and large ex situ conservation.