Angraecum bancoense Burg, Misc. Pap. Landbouwhoogeschool 19: 26 (1980).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Dolabrifolia bancoensis (Burg) Szlach. & Romowicz, Richardiana 7: 54 (2007).
Description:
Plant dwarf, usually forming a small tuft of flattened and pendent stems, up to 27 cm long, 4 mm in diameter, with numerous very fine roots 0.5 mm in diameter arising between the leaves from the basal parts of the stem. Leaves in two rows, glossy dark green, deciduous, elliptic-oblong, bilaterally compressed, obtuse in side view, with a wide groove on the upper surface extending to near the apex, 5.5–10.9 × 2.8–5 mm. Inflorescences borne opposite the leaves, appearing axillary, 1- or often 2-flowered and blooming successively; bracts elliptic, acute, 1.6–4 × 0.9–2.5 mm; pedicel and ovary 4–8 mm long. Flowers white, fleshy, 6–9 mm long. Dorsal sepal 1.6–2.8 × 0.5–1.3 mm, ovate or elliptic, 2- to 4-veined, adaxially concave, margins recurved in the distal half. Lateral sepals 1.9–2.9 × 0.8–1.4 mm, ovate, elliptic or obovate, 2- to 4-veined, adaxially concave, margins recurved in the distal half. Petals 1.2–2.5 × 0.3–0.9 mm, ovate, elliptic or obovate, 1- to 3-veined, adaxially concave, margins recurved in the distal half. Lip 1–2.6 × 1.5–2.8 mm, slightly 3-lobed, obovate, apex obtuse, lateral lobes rounded, upright on either side of the column, median lobe longer, triangular, apex acute; spur 1.8–3.7 × 0.4 mm, straight, apex obtuse. Column short, 1–2 × 0.5 mm. Pollinia 2, pyriform.
Habitat:
Angraecum bancoense is found in a wide range of habitats: deciduous forests, dense humid evergreen forests, forests rich in Caesalpinioideae, periodically inundated swampy gallery forests, near watercourses or waterfalls, montane or submontane forests, on calcareous rock and in shrubby vegetation growing on trees 2–5 m tall near inselbergs.
Phenology:
Flowering occurs throughout the year, in particular from June to September and from February to April.
Notes:
When Chevalier (1920) proposed the name Angraecum minutissimum, he cited four specimens, all from Ivory Coast, which were observed at P and clearly belong to A. bancoense. However, Chevalier (op. cit.) failed to provide a description or a diagnosis of his new species, and the name A. minutissimum is therefore invalid according to Article 38.1 of the ICN (McNeill et al. 2012). Because the habit and morphological variation in leaf shape of Angraecum bancoense and A. distichum are similar (see Arends et al. 1980), most orchid taxonomists and collectors have confused these species. This has led to numerous misidentifications, some of which may also have resulted from the fact that these two species are sometimes found growing together. While they are difficult to distinguish vegetatively, they are clearly distinct from one another on the basis of flower size.
Cultivation:
Grows well for us in a pot with a standard bark mix, in intermediate conditions, in fairly heavy shade. It would do as well, perhaps better, in warm temper- atures. If roe humidity is not sufficiently high, roe leaves start to look shrivelled.
Distribution:
According to Govaerts et al. (2016), Angraecum bancoense occurs in seven countries (Benin, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and Democratic Republic of the Congo).
References:
A taxonomic revision of Angraecum section Dolabrifolia (Orchidaceae, Angraecinae), with the description of a new species from Gabon, Phytotaxa October 2016; 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 | In culture |
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| Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission. | Photograph Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission. |
