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Bolusiella maudiae (Bolus) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 106 (1918).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Angraecum maudiae Bolus, Icon. Orchid. Austro-Afric. 1: t. 9 (1893).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Listrostachys imbricata Rolfe, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1910: 161 (1910).
Bolusiella imbricata (Rolfe) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 106 (1918).
Description:
Epiphytic herb with non-branching stem (2-20 mm) and 1-3 mm internodes. Leaves not deeply sulcate on upper surface, 15-30 x 5-10 mm, rounded at the apex. Inflorescences 31-65 mm long, 16-24 flowered, grouped in the apical half. Floral bracts brown, widely triangular, 3.5-7.0 x 2.9-5.0 mm, apex acuminate, sheathing, imbricate in the basal half of the inflorescence. Flowers 3.5-4.1 mm long and 1.2-2.1 mm diameter, 1 mm apart from each other. Dorsal sepal narrowly triangular, 2.8-3.0 x 0.7-1.0 mm. Lateral sepals narrowly triangular, 2.8-3.2 x 0.6-1.0 mm, carinate, with a basal pouch-like outgrowth. Petals ovoid, 2.0-2.7 x 0.6-1.0 mm. Lip triangular, 1.3-2.2 x 1.0-1.6 mm. Spur cylindrical, curved under the lip, 1.2-1.6 mm long, 0.4-0.5 mm diameter. Column 0.8-0.1 mm long. Ovary 0.8-1.6 mm long and 0.5-0.8 mm diameter.
Etymology:
The name maudiae was given in honor of Mrs Emily Maud Eastwood Saunders, collector of the type.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, cool to warm growing epiphyte.
Habitat:
Epiphyte in humid and dense forests or in moderately disturbed forests, from 600 to 1,800 m.
Phenology:
Flowering peaks in March, August-October and December.
Notes:
The name is often written as maudae in the literature and is used in some herbaria. In its protologue, Bolus (1893) indeed named the species Angraecum maudae in honor of Emily Maud Eastwood Saunders, the first spouse of Sir Charles James Renault Saunders. However, according to recommendation of the botanical nomenclatural code (McNeill et al. 2006), stating that «if the personal name ends with a consonant [...] substantial epithets are formed by adding -i- (stem augmentation) plus the genitive inflection appropriate to the sex and number of the person(s) honoured (e.g. wilson-iae for Wilson (f))», and according to the article 60.11, the ending of the specific epithet is in contradiction with the recommendation developed above. Moreover, examples of other taxa dedicated to a woman surnamed Maud have been named maudiae, such as Michelia maudiae Dunn (1908: 23) and Phyllostachys maudiae Dunn (1912: 330). Angraecum maudae must therefore be corrected to Angraecum maudiae.
Distribution:
Widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa: Conakry Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa (Natal). This taxon is recorded here for the first time from Nigeria.
References:
An Introduction to the South African Orchids Schelpe 1966; Orchids of East Africa Piers; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977; Miniature Orchids Northen 1980; Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1987; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb & Laurent 1982; Malawi Orchids La Croix 1983; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 2 Pope 1998; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species Parsons & Gerritsen 2013; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 24.02-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
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Photograph© Ehoarn Bidault/ Missouri Botanical Garden. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Ehoarn Bidault/ Missouri Botanical Garden. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Ehoarn Bidault/ Missouri Botanical Garden. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Ehoarn Bidault/ Missouri Botanical Garden. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph ©Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph ©Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph ©Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph ©Gilles Grunenwald. Image used with kind permission.