Amazing Monkey Orchid

These beautiful orchids are not man made, although they may seem like it to us. They come from the south-eastern Ecuadorian and Peruvian cloud forests. They only grow at heights of 1-2 km above sea level, and so are quite hard to come by.

It's scientific name is Dracula simia, the simia is for 'Simian' and lets face it, doesn't take much imagination to see what they mean by that.  The Dracula part refers to the 2 long spurs of the sepals, that reminds us of a very famous villain from a very famous book.

Looking from close up the imagination is a bit more needed, but take a step back and the similarity is astounding! The monkey orchid can bloom at any time, likes the cool and shade, and can thrive or flower at any home. But don't run down to your local flourist, because these are still very hard to come by.