Angraecum angustum (Rolfe) Summerh. in J.Hutchinson & J.M.Dalziel, Fl. W. Trop. Afr. 2: 452 (1936).
Homotypic Names:
Mystacidium angustum Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 570 (1898).
Conchograecum angustum (Rolfe) Szlach., Grochocka, Oledrz. & Mytnik, Richardiana, N.S. 2: 90 (2018).
Description:
The flowers of this rare and tiny Angraecum species appear solitarily or in small inflorescences, and have largely golden or pale orange floral segments. For more than a century, the species was known only from the type specimen collected in 1897 from Old Calabar, southern part of Nigeria, which flowered in cultivation in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Habitat:
Angraecum angustum is an epiphyte growing on small mossy branches in submontane forest, at an elevation of 1,476-3,444 feet (450-1,050 m). In Nigeria and for some collecting sites in Cameroon, the species occurs in unprotected areas that are easily accessible to local residents. In addition to logging activities and shifting agriculture at a small scale, some sites are under mining threats (such as the Ngovayang massif area), a situation that leads to the gradual decline in quality of the species habitat.
Notes:
For more than a century, the species was known only from the type specimen collected in 1897 from Old Calabar, southern part of Nigeria, which flowered in cultivation in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The first rediscovery of the species was made in Cameroon in 2006, during orchid surveys that we carried out. After that, many additional specimens were collected in the South and the Southwest regions of Cameroon, and the species is currently known from five distinct collecting sites.
Distribution:
S. Nigeria to Cameroon
References:
Rare and Threatened Orchids of Central Africa Part 1, WWW.AOS.ORG June 2020 © American Orchid Society ORCHIDS 485 Vincent Droissart on 15 June 2020.
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