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Angraecum leprechaunicum Hermans & Grunenwald sp. nov.
Description:
Erect epiphytic, monopodial plant up to 7 cm; roots round, silvery, glabrous c. 1.5 mm in diam. Stem flattened, somewhat winged, 2.5 – 4 mm x 1.2 x 2 mm, with up to 15 leaves. Leaves thick in texture, fleshy, conduplicate when young, ovate-elliptic, acute at the tip, 15 - 18 x 5 – 7 mm, with a short petiole enfolding the stem, c. 4 x 3 mm. Inflorescence emerging from the leaf axil, arching, c. 25 mm long, single-flowered. Peduncle wiry, c. 20 x 0.5 mm, thickened just below the ovary, with 2 thin sheaths c. 3 x 1 mm. Floral bracts ovate, acute, 2 - 2.5 x 1.1 - 1.3 mm. Flowers resupinate or not, c. 14 x 12 mm, all parts translucent pale yellowish-green, shiny. Pedicel and ovary terete, 7.9 - 9.2 x 0.8 - 1.2 mm, grooved, slightly thickening towards the apex. Dorsal sepal ovate, 6.8 - 7.3 x 2.6 - 2.9 mm, attenuate, margins a little recurved. Lateral sepals spreading, lanceolate, 7.3 - 7.6 x 2.3 x 2.6 mm, attenuate. Petals spreading, lanceolate, 5.3 - 5.6 x 1.2 x 1.4 mm, attenuate. Lip ovate-lanceolate (almost cordate when flattened), acuminate, 6.3 - 6.8 x 3.2 -3.3 mm, the margins incurved and partly fused towards the tip; spur tubular, a little broadened towards the base, with a slight globular swelling at the tip, slightly longer than the ovary, 12 - 15 x 0.8 - 0.9 mm. Column ovate-globose, 2.2 - 2.5 x 1.9 x 2.1 mm, roundly winged at the front. Anther oblate, with two angular wings at the front, c. 1.3 x 1.5 mm; pollinia ovoid c. 0.5 but x 0.6 mm, lacking a viscidium.
Etymology:
Named after the Leprechaun, the solitary fairies of Irish folklore; referring to the single bright green flowers.
Recognition:
Angraecum leprechaunicum belongs to section Angraecoides (Cordem.) Garay (1973: 500) characterised by its elongate stem which is flattened and longer than the leaves, its short fleshy leaves, a long arching peduncle bearing a single small flower with a short, ovate-lanceolate lip and a straight spur that is a little longer than the ovary and slightly thickened at the apex. It is closest to the type species of the section Angraecum pingue Frapp. in Cordem. (Frappier in Cordemoy 1895: 214) and to Angraecum triangulifolium Senghas (1964: 310) but differs from both by its wider and more ovate leaves, and its smaller flowers (about a third smaller) with a shorter less acuminate lip that is about double the length in the other species. The spur is only a little longer than the ovary (vs almost double the length) and tubular (vs wide at the base and gradually narrowing towards the tip).
Habitat:
There is no available information on the distribution and population status of this species.
Flowering time:
March (in cultivation)
Distribution:
Madagascar
References:
Un nouvel Angraecum de Madagascar Johan HERMANS, L'Orchidophile 222: 221-224.Septembre 2019
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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.