Home

Angraecum eburneum subsp. xerophilum H.Perrier, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 7: 133 (1938).
Description:
Differing from the type by the smaller flowers (sepals and petals 3cm. long at most. the labellum transverse, much wider (35 mm) than the long (20 mm without the acumin) and the spur relatively longer (7-8 cm long). Pollina (with their cauda retracted) are attached to the cauda in the upper third, with the apex being straight and thick as in A. superbum and attenuate-acute and curved obliquely in front of the anther, truncate in front without obvious lateral angles.
Habitat:
This species is found in southern Madagascar growing in the transitional area between the moist east coast and the dry south, and there it grows among rocks in semi-arid conditions.
Cultivation:
Since this is a very dry-growing species, we deided during the past year to pot our California plants in very coarse fir bark and keep them in very bright light (3,500 footcandles in summer, 2,000 in winter), in the brightest and warmest parts of the greenhouse, where during the summer the temperature rises to 32°C (90°F) and higher almost daily. With these conditions, the plants flowered very well, whereas they had previously bloomed (poorly) only once. This subspecies would probably do even better in a warm house, but would surely need strong light. This would appear to be a "natural" for warmer tropical regions and for the South and Southwest in the U.S. Watering has been routine (when other plants receive theirs), but because of the very porous nature of the mix, it stays quite dry.
Notes:
Where the climate allows, this species should be a good substitute for Angraecum eburneum. Although it does not bloom as profusely as the latter, the flowers are almost identical, long-lasting, and have a pleasing, not-too-spicy aroma at night. The flowering season is mid-summer (July—August) in northern climes. Its major advantage lies in plant size: here is an Angraecum eburneum which at largest will attain no more than medium plant size and will never outgrow a 5-inch pot. This subspecies is rarely imported into the U.S.A., and seedlings should be made available to hobbyists. Because of its much smaller size, this Angraecum eburneum will obviously be valuable in any hybridizing program.
Distribution:
SW. Madagascar
References:
WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 27.01-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
Images:
Click on each image to see a larger version.

In culture	In culture	In culture	In culture
Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission.