The monkey orchid, also known as Dracula simia, is native to the cloud forests of Central and South America, particularly in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia:
~Monkey orchids thrive in cool, moist, humid conditions at high altitudes. They are epiphytic, meaning they grow in the crotches of trees, or terrestrial, meaning they grow in humus-rich soils on forest floors. They get most of their nutrients from detritus and moisture from the air.
The flowers smell like ripe oranges.
In the misty cloud forests the Orchid Monkey surprises explorers with its blooming flower with a face, complete with haunted eyes and nose.
This surreal nature creation seems to look back, blurring the line between plant and animal into a mesmerizing botanical illusion. How cool is that?.
