Dracula simia

Monkey face orchid

The 'monkey face orchid', a cool-growing cloud-forest epiphyte from the Andes of southern Ecuador and northern Peru, mostly at about 1,200–2,200 m. Its flowers, which smell of ripe orange, appear in succession on pendent stems through much of the year. Like other Draculas it needs constantly humid, cool, moving air, low light and an open basket.

Dracula simia — Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte in wet montane cloud forest, growing in moss on trunks and branches in shade. A living collection record from Loja describes the habitat as montane evergreen forest. It is threatened by habitat loss and over-collection.

Herbarium and garden records with elevations fall at about 1,200–2,150 m (Jambue road 1,200 m, Quebrada Honda 1,800 m, San Francisco Station 1,900 m, Loja 2,150 m). This is intermediate-to-cool cloud forest.

Ecuador: Zamora-ChinchipeEcuador: LojaPeru (north)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.