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Diaphananthe bidens (Afzel. ex Sw.) Schltr., Orchideen: 593 (1914).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Limodorum bidens Afzel. ex Sw., Neues J. Bot. 1: 86 (1805).
Listrostachys bidens (Afzel. ex Sw.) Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 160 (1897).
Angraecum bidens (Afzel. ex Sw.) Rendle, Cat. Pl. Oban: 147 (1913).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Angraecum ashantense Lindl., Edwards's Bot. Reg. 29(Misc.): 56 (1843).
Angraecum monodon Lindl., Paxton's Fl. Gard. 2: 102 (1851).
Listrostachys ashantensis (Lindl.) Rchb.f. in W.G.Walpers, Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 908 (1864).
Listrostachys monodon (Lindl.) Rchb.f. in W.G.Walpers, Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 908 (1864).
Listrostachys papagayi Rchb.f., Flora 48: 189 (1865).
Angraecum acutum Ridl., Bol. Soc. Brot. 5: 199 (1887).
Angraecum bakeri Kraenzl., Mitt. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. 2: 159 (1889).
Angorchis ashantensis (Lindl.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 651 (1891).
Angorchis monodon (Lindl.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 651 (1891).
Angorchis papagayi (Rchb.f.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 651 (1891).
Listrostachys bakeri (Kraenzl.) T.Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 48 (1894).
Mystacidium productum Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 21: 30 (1895).
Listrostachys acuta (Ridl.) Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 159 (1897).
Listrostachys mystacidioides Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 28: 170 (1900).
Listrostachys longissima Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 48: 400 (1912).
Angraecum subfalcifolium De Wild., Bull. Jard. Bot. État 5: 192 (1916).
Diaphananthe acuta (Ridl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 97 (1918).
Diaphananthe ashantensis (Lindl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 98 (1918).
Diaphananthe monodon (Lindl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 98 (1918).
Diaphananthe mystacidioides (Kraenzl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 99 (1918).
Diaphananthe papagayi (Rchb.f.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 99 (1918).
Diaphananthe producta (Kraenzl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 99 (1918).
Diaphananthe subfalcifolia (De Wild.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 100 (1918).
Mystacidium duemmerianum Kraenzl., Vierteljahrsschr. Naturf. Ges. Zürich 74: 100 (1929).
Description:
Stems pendent, to 50 cm long, leafy for most of their length. Leaves distichous, 5-17 x 1-4 cm, ovate or elliptic, unequally and acutely bilobed at the apex. Inflorescences arising along the apical half of the stem, to 22 cm long, to 25-flowered. Flowers white, buff-pink, or salmon-pink. Sepals 3-7 x 1-3 mm, lanceolate or triangular; petals 3-6 x 1-2 mm, lanceolate. Lip 3-7 x 3-6, quadrate, slightly emarginate or apiculate, with a tooth in the mouth of the spur; spur 3-7 mm long, incurved, slightly swollen in the middle. Column 2 mm lang.
Habitat:
In rainforests on tree trunks and large branches at elevations of 350 to 1300 meters .
Cultivation:
Because of its pendent habit, this species does better when mounted, but needs high humidity, particularly when in active growth. Intermediate temperatures are satisfactory. In cultivation it flowers in autumn (October).
Distribution:
Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea (Pagalu Island), Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, Zaire.
References:
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; Orchids of the Central African Republic - A Provisional Checklist Cribb & Fay 1987; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 3 Cribb 1989; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 26.02-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
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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.