Angraecum infundibulare Lindl., J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 6: 136 (1862).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Angorchis infundubularis (Lindl.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 651 (1891).
Mystacidium infundibulare (Lindl.) Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 170 (1897).
Eichlerangraecum infundibulare (Lindl.) Szlach., Mytnik & Grochocka, Biodivers. Res. Conservation 29: 13 (2013).
Description:
Stems long, to 2 m (6 ft.) or more; Stewart and Campbell (1970) said that stems can scramble through trees to 10 m (33 ft.) in the wild. Leaves distichous, 10-22 x 1.5-4 cm (4-9 x 1-2 in.), elliptic or oblanceolate, unequally and obtusely bilobed at apex. Inflorescences l-flowered, 15-20 cm (6-8 in.) long. Flowers pate green with a white tip, strongly scented, 15 cm (6 in.) long from apex of dorsal sepal to tip of tip, which makes them roe largest of any orchid of mainland Africa. Sepals and petals linear-lanceolate, acuminate, all spreading; sepals 6-8.5 cm (2-3 in.) x 3-10 mm; petals 5.5-6 x 4-5 mm. Lip 6.5-8.5 x 5-5.5 cm (2-3 x 2 in.), concave, oblong-ovate, with an apicule 1 cm (0.5 in.) long. Spur 10-20 cm (4-8 in.) long, slender from a funnel-shaped mouth.
Habitat:
Forest, usually in hot and humid areas, 1150-1300 m (3800-4300 ft.).
Cultivation:
Grows well in a bark mix in a fairly large pot that contains a moss pole (of the type used for climbing indoor plants) to which the stem can be tied until it attaches itself by its roots.
Distribution:
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Principe, Uganda.
References:
AOS Bulletin Vol 32 No 10 1963; AOS Bulletin Vol 33 No 5 1964; Encylopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 2 1979; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb, Laurent 1982; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1982; Cultivated Angraecoid Orchids Of Madagascar Hillerman & Holst 1986; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 3 Cribb 1989; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 4 2003; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005; Field Guide to the Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 27.01-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
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