Aerangis confusa J.Stewart, Kew Bull. 34: 273 (1979).
Description:
Stem woody, up to 8 mm in diameter, to 10 cm long, upright, or curved with the apical part upright and leafy, with numerous very long flexuous roots borne on the lower part. Leaves 3-12, distichous, 5-10 mm apart, obovate or oblanceolate, widest near the apex and gradually narrowed to the sheathing base, apex bilobed, the lobes equal or unequal, rounded, acute or obtuse, with or without a sinus to 10 mm long between the lobes, leathery in texture, dark green, with minute black dots, the margins straight, 5-24 x 1.5-5-5 cm. Inflorescences axillary, spreading or pendulous, bearing 4-10 flowers; peduncle terete, up to 10 cm long, 3 mm in diameter, bearing 1-3 tubular sheaths; rhachis straight or slightly zigzag, pale pinkish or greyish green, dotted with black spots; bracts triangular-ovate, black, 4-7 mm long. Flowers erect or curving forwards, 1-3 cm apart, closest towards the tip of the inflorescence, greenish white at first, becoming white, with the spur, pedicel and sometimes the tips of the perianth pinkish, pedicel with ovary 2-6 cm long. Dorsal sepal arching forwards over the column, lanceolate-elliptic, rostrate or acuminate 15-25 x 4-7.5 mm; lateral sepals first reflexed then curving forwards, lanceolate, rostrate, 18-26 x 2"5- 5 mm. Petals strongly reflexed, lanceolate and acuminate or cuspidate, 15-22 x 3-5 mm. Lip elliptic or lanceolate, acuminate or cuspidate, or oblong-lanceolate and cuspidate like the petals, the margins strongly recurved, 15-23 x 5-7 mm; spur narrow, tapering gradually from the base to apex, or slightly inflated in the lower half, 4-6 cm long. Column straight, horizontal, terete below, inflated above, 6-8 mm long; anther cap with a short beak; rostellum slightly curved downwards; pollinia ellipsoid, up to 0-9 mm long; stipes slender, 2 mm long; viscidium ovate; stigmatic cavity oblong, facing downwards.
Habitat:
This epiphytic orchid is found primarily in Kenya where it has been recorded from Mt. Kulal, Maralal, the Rift Valley, Mua Hills, and the hills in the Masai district. Plants grow in shady places, usually rather low on the trunks of small trees and bushes, at 5250-6900 ft. (1600-2100 m). This orchid normally is found in warmer and drier localities than other Aerangis species that it closely resembles when not in flower. In Tanzania, plants are known only from the northern part of the Masai District.
Notes:
This somewhat variable species is a common epiphyte in parts of highland Kenya and has been known in cultivation in that country for a long time. In the vegetative and fruiting state it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish it from A. brachycarpa (A. Rich.) Dur. & Schinz. When A. Richard described the latter species, in 1850, he stated that the flower bore a spur 2-3 inches long, and the type specimen, at Kew, Schimper 1314, still bears a fruiting capsule with a spur of this length. However the holotype, in Paris, bears a much longer spur, and close study of these sheets has revealed that the spur remnants in both of them are broken.
The description indicates that this species is somewhat variable. Plants with the more luxuriant leaves, longer inflorescences, larger flowers, and much longer capsules have been found in the higher rainfall areas at higher altitudes. When exposed to more light, or the warmer climates of lower altitudes, this species has much smaller, thicker leaves and shorter capsules. There is a gradation between the two most extreme growth forms (Glover et al. 2200, Loita hills, which is very luxuriant and Bally 5622, Mt Kulal, a small form) that can be related to growing conditions. Under good cultivation the most miserable specimens become luxuriant within a few years.
Cultivation:
Read more of Cultivation of Aerangis confusa J.Stewart
Distribution:
Kenya to N. Tanzania
References:
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. WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 18.01-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/ Stewart, J. (1979). A Revision of the African Species of Aerangis (Orchidaceae) Kew Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 2 (1979), pp. 239-319
Images:
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| In culture |
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| Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission. |
