Lemurorchis madagascariensis Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 17: 58 (1893).
Description:
Plant large with a short stem, reaching 30-50 cm high. Leaves 6-15, folded in the lower half and strap-shaped above, obtusely bilobed at the apex, 25-45 cm long, 2.2-3 cm wide above a leaf sheath 5-6 cm long. Inflorescences upright, shorter than :he leaves, 20-30 cm long, many-flowered; peduncle rigid, 15-22 cm long; bracts conspicuous in bud, 5 mm long; pedicel with ovary very short. Flowers yellowish white, fleshy; sepals and petals free, dorsal sepal wider than others; lip short, enclosing the column, 3-lobed at the apex, side lobes larger than the mid-lobe, with a fleshy callus on the surface in front of the mouth of the spur; spur with a narrow mouth, slender, curved, 8 mm long.
Habitat:
Epiphyte on lichen- and moss-covered trees and shrubs in mossy forests; 2000-2200 m; flowering February to March.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, cool growing epiphyte.
Distribution:
C. & EC. Madagascar
References:
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; Orchids of Madagascar Hermans 2007; Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar Cribb & Herman 2009; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 10.03-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
Images:
Click on each image to see a larger version.
| In culture |
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| Photograph© Olaf Pronk. Image used with kind permission. |
