RHH's photos with the keyword: madagascar

Saturday we explored the Gold Coast of Queensland and New South Wales. One of the places we hiked was Burleigh Heads National Park and these flowers were photographed there. We though them very beautiful but discovered they are considered to be a noxious pest when we looked them up. The plant is a succulent and is native to Madagascar. In Australia it is a garden escape.

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.

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...

From Madagascar, this is one of the smaller Angraecums, but one which I have trouble managing. Its roots go everywhere, attaching to everything they touch. It bloomed for me for the first time last summer with two flowers, one considerably smaller than the other. It is very fragrant and has 6 cm flowers that have a 10 cm spur (not shown). orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/08/angraecum-didieri...

This is one of a few Angraecums that do not have white flowers and the only one I know of that has flowers of this bronze color. These are buds just starting to open but I posted them because the long spur or nectary is so clearly visible in this shot. It is native to Madagascar. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/12/northwest-orchid-...

My Angraecum breve is in bloom again, this time with two flowers. I pollinated the single flower that bloomed last year and a seed pod developed and was on the plant for a year. I was very much afraid that would have weakened the plant and that it would not bloom at all this year, so the two flowers were a very pleasant surprise. The plant is from Madagascar and is one of the smallest in the genus. The plant, just visible in this photo, is an inch and a half in size, the flowers almost that large and the nectary or spur nearly six inches. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2013/02/angraecum-breve.html

This is a close-up of the flowers from the tiny little Angraecum I posted some time ago. At that time someone who knows better than I suggested that this plant was not Angraecum breve, but an unidentified species and that I would be better to label is with "cf. breve." I've done that with this picture as well. The species, whatever it is, is from Madagascar. The plant is only an inch across and the flowers dwarf the plant, especially the long spur or nectary. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2013/02/angraecum-breve.html

I've posted pictures of the flowers: these are the buds with the spurs or nectaries uncurling. I am completely charmed by this plant and this photo demonstrates why. Pleae note too that you can get some idea of the size fo the plant from the moss on which it is growing. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2013/02/angraecum-breve.html

This is the unopened flower bud of the little Angraecum I posted a few days ago. It is a delight to watch the nectary or spur uncoil to its full six inches as the flower develops.. You can also get some idea of the size of the plant when you compare it to the moss in which it is growing. This charming little species is from Madagascar. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2013/04/angraecum-urschia...