🇪🇨 Habitat and Ecology
​Dracula hirtzii is a distinct epiphytic orchid endemic to southeastern Ecuador (specifically the province of Morona-Santiago). It inhabits wet, montane cloud forests at elevations typically between 1,800 and 2,200 metres.
​In this environment, it grows on mossy trees, experiencing constant high humidity, frequent mist, and cool temperatures year-round. It is found in deep shade in the lower levels of the forest canopy.
​🌸 Description and Distinguishing Features
​This species is a caespitose (clump-forming) perennial typical of the genus, lacking pseudobulbs. It is immediately recognizable by its unique texture.
​Foliage: The plant consists of erect stems supporting thinly leathery, narrowly elliptic leaves (15-25 cm long) that are light to medium green.
​Flowers: The inflorescences are pendulous (hanging downwards), emerging from the base of the plant and often growing through the substrate. They usually carry a single flower that faces downwards.
​Aesthetics (The "Woolly" Texture): The defining characteristic of D. hirtzii is the dense covering of long, soft, white or translucent hairs (pubescence) over the entire surface of the sepals. This gives the flower a distinctly fuzzy or woolly appearance.
​Colour: Underneath the fuzz, the sepals are typically a pale creamy-yellow, buff, or sometimes pale orange, often with faint darker suffusion near the center. The long, slender tails are usually a contrasting dark brown or maroon.
​Lip: The central lip (labellum) is small, scoop-shaped, and mobile (hinged), usually coloured pink or rose, providing a small spot of colour amidst the pale, hairy sepals.
​🔬 Taxonomy and Ethnobotany
​Taxonomy: Described by Carlyle Luer in 1979, the specific epithet honours Alexander Hirtz, a prominent Ecuadorian mining engineer, botanist, and prolific collector who discovered numerous new orchid species, including this one.
​Pollination: Like other Dracula, it uses fungal mimicry to attract fungus gnat pollinators. The extreme hairiness of D. hirtzii is thought to enhance this mimicry, potentially resembling fungal mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus) or a mass of spores to the target insects.
​💧 Cultivation and Care
​Dracula hirtzii is a cool-growing specialist that requires high humidity and constant moisture. It is unsuitable for standard household environments.
​Light: Requires deep shade to low filtered light. Direct sunlight is damaging. Light levels should be low, similar to the forest floor.
​Substrate: Due to its strictly pendent flower spikes, it must be grown in a hanging net pot or open-mesh basket lined with sphagnum moss. Solid pots will trap the flowers, causing them to rot before emerging.
​Watering: The moss medium must be kept constantly wet; never allow it to dry out completely.
​Water Quality: Use only rainwater, distilled, or reverse osmosis (RO) water. These plants are intolerant of dissolved minerals and salts found in tap water, which cause leaf-tip die-back.
​Temperature:
​Optimal Daytime: 16-20 C (60-68 F).
​Optimal Nighttime: 10-14 C (50-57 F).
​Critical Limit: Sustained temperatures above 24 C (75 F) are detrimental.
​Humidity: Very High (85-100%) is essential year-round.
​✨ Unique Features
​The primary distinguishing feature of Dracula hirtzii is its extreme pubescence. While some other Dracula species have fine hairs, the hairs on D. hirtzii are exceptionally long, dense, and shaggy, making the flower look like a pale, fuzzy creature rather than a typical orchid bloom.
​🏷️ Specifications
​Plant Size: 4+ leaved plants in netted pots. Divisions from our stock plants
Plant Family: Orchidaceae
Plant Passport: A Dracula hirtzii B 140084 C [buyer to use number of the plant label] D GB