Dryadella Genus

Dryadella is a genus of miniature epiphytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae, order Asparagales, described by Carlyle A. Luer in 1978 (Selbyana 2: 207). Its species were formerly included within the related genus Masdevallia before being split out. Depending on the source, the genus comprises roughly 60 to 71 species.

Plants are small, typically forming a compact tuft of leaves only 3 to 6 cm long. The flowers are correspondingly diminutive, just 1 to 2 cm across, and are often conspicuously spotted; they are borne at the base of the leaves rather than on tall inflorescences, in keeping with the genus's miniature habit. One well-known member, Dryadella edwallii, is commonly called "Partridge in the Grass" and can be grown into a spectacular, floriferous specimen plant.

The genus is native to the Neotropics, ranging from southern Mexico through Central America and into southern Brazil and northern Argentina, with populations recorded in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.

The genus name derives from "Dryad," a tree nymph or tree spirit of Greek mythology, an allusion fitting for these small orchids that often grow epiphytically on trees. In cultivation, many species are reported to do well mounted on cork or treefern rather than grown in pots.