RHH's photos with the keyword: angraecum

Angraecum dideri is from Madagascar and is a small plant in comparison to some of the other species in the genus. Its roots, however, ramble everywhere and it is always for that reason a bit difficult to contain in my limited space. The plant is an elongated fan of leaves which grows to 20 cm and produces new growths along the stem (there are two new growths on my plant, one of which is blooming). The flowers, produced one or two per spike, are 6 cm with a 10 cm nectary or spur extending from the back of the flower. The flowers are a very pale green with a while lip and are fragrant at night. On another note, the long nectary must mean the pollinator, a night-flying moth, has a tongue that long, as indeed it does. A related species, Angraecum sesquipedale, has a nectary that is 30 cm long and Darwin predicted that a moth would be found with a tongue that long. The moth was discovered after his death and given the species name praedicta in honor of Darwin.

Angraecum didieri is from Madagascar and is one of the larger orchids I grow, though it still is a small plant compared with many orchids. The plant is a fan of leaves that grows to 20 cm+ and the flowers are 6 cm with a 10 cm spur or nectary, visible in the photo. The flowers are a very pale green with a white lip and are very fragrant at night. The plant produces an abundance of aerial roots that attach to everything they reach and are very difficult to contain in a small growing area such as mine.

From Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.

A species from Madagascar.

This species is native to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.

A species from Kenya and Tanzania.

From Central and South Africa (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambi and Zimbabwe).

From Central and South Africa (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambi and Zimbabwe).

This species is from the Comoros Islands.

A species from Kenya and Tanzania.

Native to Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Gabon, Zaire and Uganda.

From Gabon. You can see the nectar in the spurs of the flowers if you look closely.

This photo was taken at another show and shows the flower of this species fully opened.

This is an unopened bud of an orchid I have not grown or flowered before. Angraecum breve is from Madagascar, and in that way also is a bit unusual for me, since the majority of orchids I grow are from the new world. I am totally charmed by this plant, however, both for its size, for its white flowers and for the spur which gradually uncurls as the flower opens. It will be completely open in a few days and I'll post another picture then. Most Angraecums are large plants and some are huge. This plant is a little fan 4 cm (1.5 in.) across, the flower is 3 cm (1 in. plus) in size and the spur is over 10 cm long (approx. 4.5 in.) when the flower opens and it is fully uncurled. It was an Angraecum, a different species and a much larger plant, with flowers carrying a 12 inch spur, that Darwin used to predict the existence of a moth with a 12 inch tongue. This flower is probably also moth pollinated. I do not know yet if the flower is fragrant, but suspect it will be, since many white flowers and especially flowers like this are pollinated by night-flying insects who are attracted by the fragrance and who use the nectar for food. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/02/angraecum-breve.html

This is the opened flower of the bud whose picture I posted several days ago. The tiny plant is also visible behind the flower. As I wrote when I posted the previous picture, the plant is a little fan 4 cm (1.5 in.) across, the flower is 3 cm (1 in. plus) in size and the spur is over 10 cm long (approx. 4.5 in.) when the flower opens and it is fully uncurled. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/02/angraecum-breve.html

One more photo of the little orchid that I found so utterly charming, this just before the flower opened and right after I had watered it. The fully opened flower is below. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/02/angraecum-breve.html

This is another micro-mini Angraecum, minuscule in comparison to the larger members of this genus. I posted a photo of a similar species (Angraecum breve, also from Madagascar) some time ago, but a close examination will show that both plant and flowers are different. And, yes, what you see of the plant is about all there is of it and the color, too, is accurate. When the flower opens the long spur also uncoils and is about 5-6 inches in length. More photos of buds and flowers here: orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/04/angraecum-urschia...

Looking back I see that I never posted a picture of the flowers of this species, so here is one now, though belatedly. The photo below and the link give a great deal more information about this delightful and rare species. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/04/angraecum-urschia...