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Aerangis kotschyana (Rchb.f.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 118 (1918).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Angraecum kotschyanum Rchb.f., Oesterr. Bot. Z.: 338 (1864).
Angraecum kotschyi Rchb.f., Gard. Chron., n.s., 14: 456 (1880), nom. illeg.
Aerangis kotschyi Rchb.f., Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 78 (1881), nom. illeg.
Rhaphidorhynchus kotschyi Finet, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 54(9): 36 (1907), nom. illeg.
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Angraecum grantii Bateman ex Baker, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 29: 153 (1875).
Angraecum semipedale Rendle, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 30: 389 (1895).
Aerangis grantii (Bateman ex Baker) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 116 (1918).
Description:
Stem stout and woody, upright, up to 15 mm diam. and 20 cm long, bearing numerous greyish roots 7-9 mm diam. Leaves 3-20, distichous, very close together, obovate-oblong, base attenuate, apex unequally or subequally bilobed, the longer lobe subobtuse or acute, up to 12 mm long, the shorter lobe rounded or absent, fleshy or leathery in texture, the margins undulate, 6-20(-30) x 2-8 cm. Inflorescences axillary, often several, arching or pendent racemes bearing up to 20 flowers; peduncle terete, up to 12 cm long; bracts triangular, ovate, up to 8 mm long. Flowers in 2 rows, 2-3 cm apart, white, often tinged with salmon pink at the centre and in the tips of the perianth and spur; pedicellate ovary pinkish green, 2-3 cm long. Dorsal sepal erect, or arching forward over the column, elliptic-lanceolate, apiculate, winged on the back near the tip (12-)20-25 x 9 mm; lateral sepals spreading, lanceolate, winged on the back near the tip, apiculate (14-)20- 28 x 7 mm. Petals strongly reflexed, oblanceolate, apiculate, 10-23 x 8 mm. Lip deflexed, sub pandurate, (10-)15-20 x 8-15 mm, apiculate, winged on the back near the tip, margins strongly recurved in the lower half, two prominent crests on the upper surface in front of the mouth of the spur; spur pendulous, thickened in its lower third and curved or twisted just below the middle, becoming more twisted as the flowers age, 13-22 cm long. Column thick, 3-6 mm long, 5 mm wide; rostellum porrect, straight or slightly curved; pollinia ovoid; stipes widened in the upper part; viscidium oblanceolate. Capsule 3-5 cm long, up to 1-5 cm diam.
Habitat:
It grows as an epiphyte at mid to high levels, often on smooth-barked trees in woodlands or along rivers. Plants are found in hot regions that may be rather dry or may be wet with high rainfall. They usually grow below 3000 ft. (910 m), but may be found as high as 4900 ft. (1500 m).
Notes:
Reichenbach suspected that Angraecum grantii was synonymous with his A. kotschyanum, but Schlechter retained it as a separate species when he transferred it to Aerangis. Although the type, Grant 716, is a fruiting specimen, it is quite clear, now that so many specimens are available for study, that Reichenbach was correct. There are very long, flexuous spurs still attached to the short fruiting capsules. These spurs are more slender and twisted than those which are seen on mature flowers of A. kotschyana but demonstrate the changes which occur in those flowers following pollination. As the perianth fades the corkscrew twists in the spur become at the same time less pronounced and more numerous, while the whole spur gradually becomes thinner as the rest of the flower shrivels and dies.
This species is clearly and easily distinguished from all others by its leaves and by its conspicuous flowers with their broad lip and twisted spur. It has been known in cultivation for many years and was frequently illustrated in the older orchid publications.
Culture:
Read more of cultivation of Aerangis kotschyana (Rchb.f.) Schltr.
Distribution:
Trop. Africa to KwaZulu-Natal
References:
Hamilton, R. 1988. When does it flower? 2nd ed. Robert M. Hamilton, 9211 Beckwith Road, Richmond, B. C., Canada V6X 1V7. Hillerman, F. and A. Holst. 1986. An introduction to the cultivated Angraecoid orchids of Madagascar. Timber Press, Portland, Ore. African orchids in the wild and in cultivation. Timber Press, Portland, OR. Stewart, J. and B. Campbell. 1996. Orchids of Kenya. Timber Press, Portland, OR. Stewart, J., J. Hermans, and B. Campbell. 2006, Angraecoid Orchids. Timber Press, Portland, OR. Yearron, S. H. Nov. 17, 1999; A Revision of the African Species of Aerangis (Orchidaceae) Kew Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 2 (1979), pp. 239-319; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 19.01-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
Images:
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In culture	In culture	In culture	In culture	In culture
Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.