Aerangis hologlottis (Schltr.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 117 (1911).
Synonyms:
Angraecum hologlottis Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 3: 82 (1906).
Description:
Stem short and stout, woody, up to 3 cm long, 5 mm diam. covered with closely overlapping old leaf bases, bearing numerous greyish roots 1-2 mm diam. Leaves 2-6, closely overlapping on the stem, linear or narrowly oblong-ligulate, attenuated below, often falcate, bilobed at the apex, the lobes unequal or sub equal, acute, 2-7 mm long, somewhat fleshy, dark green, margins entire, 5-9 cm x 7-18 mm. Inflorescences one to several racemes, arising below the leaves, erect or spreading, up to 18 cm long, bearing 6-15 flowers; peduncle terete, up to 5 cm long, 1 mm diam., bearing 4-5 tight sheaths; rhachis straight; bracts broadly triangular-ovate, up to 2 mm long. Flowers 5-8 mm apart, white with the pedicel and spur pale greenish; pedicel with ovary 5-7 mm long; perianth parts all spreading. Dorsal sepal narrowly elliptic, apiculate, 6-7 x 1-5-3 mm; lateral sepals similar, but narrower 5-5-6-5 x 1-3-2 mm. Petals narrowly obovate- elliptic, apiculate, 5-6 x 2-4 mm. Lip obovate, apiculate, 5-6 x 2.5-3 mm; spur straight, slender, 3-5-7 x 0-5 mm. Column short and stout, 1 mm high; androcilnium transversely oblong; rostellum straight; pollinia globose; stipes slender; viscidium narrowly elliptic.
Habitat:
Epiphytic on twigs and small branches of trees in coastal forest: 0-500 m.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus.
Notes:
It is the smallest of the Aerangis species of Africa, but is similar in size to two Madagascan species, namely Aerangis hyaloides (Reichb. f.) Schltr. and Aerangis pumilio Schltr. However, it has longer and differently shaped leaves from these two and may also be distinguished from them by its longer racemes with more numerous flowers.
Distribution:
SE. Kenya to NE. Tanzania (incl. Zanzibar), Mozambique, Sri Lanka
References:
Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 3 Cribb 1989; Orchids of Kenya Stewart & Campbell 1996; African Orchids in the wild and Cultivation LaCroix 1997; Flora Zambeziaca Vol 11 Part 2 Pope 1998; 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:
Click on each image to see a larger version.
| Habitat/In situ |
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| Photograph Karl Senghas©Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz Image used with kind permission. |
