AboutOrchids

As the Year of the Monkey arrives, I’m certainly not the first to make the connection with Monkey Orchids. It’s easy to see how these Draculas have earned the Spanish nicknames orquídea mono (monkey orchid) and orquídea cara de mono (monkey face orchid) in their native South American homes. There’s a monkey face in the middle of each flower. These photos were taken at local orchid shows, except for the first two pictures which are from the Conservatory of Flowers.

Some Dracula flowers really look like monkey faces. Some you have to stare at for a moment, and others require more imagination. It’s all a coincidence of their appearance. These Masdevallia relatives are only trying to attract the tiny flies which pollinate them.

The next photo below shows Dracula lemurella. Its species name means “like a lemur” due to a resemblance to our primate relatives. These and other fuzzy Dracula flowers certainly add their charms to Year of the Monkey celebrations. Find more amazing Monkey Orchids here. Happy Lunar New Year!

Explore posts in the same categories: Cool Growers, In the News, Photos

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2016 at 6:00 am and is filed under Cool Growers, In the News, Photos.

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