Angraecum birrimense Rolfe, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1914: 214 (1914).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Eichlerangraecum birrimense (Rolfe) Szlach., Mytnik & Grochocka, Biodivers. Res. Conservation 29: 13 (2013).
Description:
Stems elongated, sometimes as much as 2 m (6 ft.) long, somewhat flattened. Leaves distichous, 7-15 x 1.5-4.5 cm (3-6 x 1-2 in.), oblong-lanceolate, unequally and obtusely bilobed at the apex. Inflorescences usually 2-flowered. Flowers to 12 cm (5 in.) in diameter, scented, pate green, the lip white with a green central mark. Sepals and petals 3-6 cm (1-2 in.) x 3-9 mm, narrowly lanceolate. Lip 3-4 cm (1-2 in.) long and wide, suborbicular to squarish, not including an apicule 1-1.5 cm (0.5-1 in.) long. Spur 3.5-5 cm (1-2 in.) long, tapering from a wide mouth.
Habitat:
Evergreen forest. Altitude not known.
Cultivation:
In shaded, humid, and warm to intermediate conditions. Grows well in a bark mix in a fairly large pot that contains a mass 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, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone.
References:
AOS Bulletin Vol 39 No 10 1970; Cultivated Angraecoid Orchids Of Madagascar Hillerman & Holst 1986; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Encylopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 25.01-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
Images:
Click on each image to see a larger version.
| In culture |
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| Photograph© Lourens Grobler. Image used with kind permission. |
