These Orchids Look Just Like a Monkey’s Face

These Orchids Look Just Like a Monkey’s Face

Mother Nature certainly has a sense of humor, and these special flowers are proof of exactly that.

Although orchids are cherished flowers that many people have inside their homes, there are several thousand different species of orchids that are just as mesmerizing. One of the most unique species of orchids is a bit different from the typical flowers you’re used to seeing.

 The Dracula Orchid Simia more often referred to as the “Orchid Monkey” is part of a family with more than 110 different varieties with an uncanny resemblance to monkey heads.

Most of Dracula Orchid Simia specimen have been discovered at the mountainous rain-forests of southern Ecuador and Peru.

This flower species was christened by botanist Carlyle A. Lueren in 1978. Dracula simia translates to “little dragon monkey, with reference to its long fang like petals.”

What really captures our hearts about these little buddies are their long faces, formed by a handful of long petals. While the center of the flower may be a dead ringer for our ancestral cousins, the name is a shout-out to the two long sepals (the part of a flower that encloses the developing bud) located at the base of the petals.