Dracula chimaera

Read about Dracula chimaera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Masdevallia chimaera, Reichb. f. Fig. 2332. Tufted: lvs. oblanceolate-obtuse, 1 ft. long and l½ in. wide: peduncle wiry, erect, lateral or pendent several-fld., mostly shorter than the lvs.; fls. opening in succession; calyx-lobes ovate, yellowish, much spotted with deep crimson-purple, tapering into slender tails from 3-11 in. long, purple-brown; petals white, marked with crimson; labellum saccate, white, yellow or pinkish, very variable. Colombia. R.H. 1881:130. G.C. II. 3:41. C.O. 5.—One of the most fantastic of orchids, and the type of a most interesting group. Var.Roezlii, Hort. (M. Roezlii, Reichb. f.). No long hairs on the calyx-lobes, the lobes very dark- colored, with short warts; labellum pink, not yellow. Color the darkest of the section. Often regarded as a good species. Sub - var. rubra. Spots on calyx-lobe brown- Crimson. Var.Wallsii, Hort. (M. Wallisii Reichb. f.) Calyx-lobes with hispid pubescence, yellowish, spotted with brown-purple; labellum white, yellow within. Var.Winniana, Hort. (M. Winniana, Reichb. f.). Calyx-lobes elongated, densely black-spotted. In part distinguished from var. Roezlii by its longer tails. Var.Backhousiana, Hort. (M. Backhousiana, Reichb. f.). Lvs. narrower than in the type: fls. large; calyx- lobes more round, paler, not so thickly spotted; tails short; labellum nearly white.—Perhaps a distinct species. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.