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SlipperMania! Photo Page
Saturday, July 23, 2005
with Mr. Dennis D. D'Alessandro
Mr. D'Alessandro has been growing orchids for over 25 years, moving to Ecuador in 1977 where he was the curator of the orchid collection at Orquideario Predesur, a botanical garden dedicated to maintaining over 400 orchid species native to Ecuador. Since 1977, he has collected and cataloged over 1000 specimens, of which over 80 were new to science. Mr. D'Alessandro worked in conjunction with the Marie Selby Gardens and the Missouri Botanical Gardens, in collecting and cataloging orchid species of southern Ecuador, one of the richest and least known orchid habitats. Since the beginning of this project, he has participated in the discovery of 100 new orchid species, some of which carry his name: Masd. dalessandroi, Dracula dalessandroi, Masd. mendozae, Phragmipedium besseae var. dalessandroi, and others. He maintains nurseries at Vilcabamba, Ecuador, dividing his time between there, and here in the U.S. Here, he and his wife Maria and their family have Gypsy Glen Orchids in Beaver, PA, established in 1991.