See text The orchid genus Dracula, abbreviated as Drac in horticultural trade, consists of 118 species native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

[2][3] The name was applied to the orchid because of the blood-red color of several of the species, and the strange aspect of the long spurs of the sepals.

These caespitose orchids grow in tufts from a short rhizome, with a dense pack of stems.

On each stem grows one large, thin, plicate leaf with a sharply defined midrib.

These glabrous, light to dark green leaves may be spongy, taking over the function of the missing pseudobulb.

Research by biologists at the University of Oregon indicates that D. lafleurii also possesses a uniquely volatile chemistry, similar to localized species of mushrooms.