They belong to the subtribe Angraecinae and as such, do not possess pseudobulbs but have an ever growing monopodial stem or stems. They are in the Alliance Angraecum along with the Genera: Aeranthes, Angraecum, Jumellea.

Many species that in the past were considered to belong to the genus Angraecum have now been re-classified. A complete list of all present and past species names with their current classification can be found in the Binomial and Synonyms table.

Currently there are 221 accepted Angraecum species. New species are still being discovered in the rain forests of Madagascar.

They are quite varied vegetatively and florally and are adapted to dry tropical woodland habitat and have quite fleshy leaves as a consequence. Most are epiphytes, but a few are lithophytes. Tropical Africa and Madagascar contain the majority of the genus with outlying species in southeast Asia. But these orchids can also be found on the Comoros, the Seychelles, and the Mascarenes. They occur between sea level and 2,000 m in humid regions. The long-lasting flowers are racemose and grow from the leaf axils. They are mostly white, but a few are yellow, green or ochre. They all have a long spur at the back of the labellum (lip). In the case of Angraecum sesquipedale, a species from Madagascar, on observing the 30cm spur in the lip, Charles Darwin theorised that, since the nectar was at the bottom of the spur, a pollinator must exist with a tongue at least that long. Otherwise the orchid could never be pollinated. At the time, he was not believed. However, long after Darwin's death, the predicted pollinator was discovered, a hawk moth now named Xanthopan morganii praedicta (praedicta meaning predicted). It had an appropriately long proboscis. The specific name 'sesquipedale' means 'one foot and a half', referring to the length of the spur. This is a perfect example of mutual dependence of an orchid and a specific pollinator.

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For many years, this genus was known only from a few plants owing to difficulties in importing them from the far-away habitats. Today, many species in this genus are grown from seed, which makes them more readily avaiable to growers, who can discover the many species available by reading books. Handsome in or out of bloom, angraecums usually have white to creamy green blooms that are borne one to many on axillary inflorescences. The flowers are often fragrant at night.

Various botanists have revised the genus Angraecum and tried to divide it into sections. In 1973, the American botanist Leslie Garay has proposed to divide the genus Angraecum into 19 sections. His work is still a reference: 7 sections are strictly endemic to Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands. 10 sections are common to Madagascar and Continental Africa. 2 sections are only found in Continental Africa His work is still a reference: 7 sections are strictly endemic to Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands. 10 sections are common to Madagascar and Continental Africa. 2 sections are only found in Continental Africa [Systematics of the Genus Angraecum (Orchidaceae), Kew Bulletin (1973)]

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Pollination is insured by moths that have a trump that is adapted to the length of the flowers' spur. The moths are attracted by the powerful fragrance of the flower and guided by the white color of the labellum that is well visible at night.

Habitat: This is difficult to generalize, as the plants range from dwarf to quite large, and from upright, as in A. sesquipedale and Angraecum compactum, to trailing, as in Angraecum scottianum . Generally, these plants are monopodial, sometimes branching, with fleshy leaves and showy white blooms borne one to many on racemes. The flowers are generally of heavy substance and long lasting.

Culture: The diverse habitats from which these plants originate makes it difficult to prescribe specific cultural advice. Provide strong light, but not direct sun (some, like A soronium, will not bloom without sun). Adequate humidity is a must. Provide the larger plants with an open medium in pots or baskets. Grow the smaller plants in small pots or mount them on pieces of tree fern, cork or wood. An even supply of moisture is important. Larger plants must have either tropical conditions out of doors, or a greenhouse because they can get quite large, up to 36 inches or more. Members of this group include Angraecum eburneum, A. sesquipedale, Ang. scottianum (trailing) and Angraecum magdalenae. Smaller plants can be excellent windowsill or under-lights subjects. Among these are Angraecum leonis (see picture), Ang. compactum and Angraecum didieri .

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Angraecum sesquipedale Thou. 1822

(The Star of Bethlehem Orchid or Christmas Star Orchid or Comet Orchid or Rocket Orchid) is the orchid that gave Charles Darwin some of his ideas about evolution. When he observed the 12-inch-long spur included in the lip of this flower, he postulated that there must be a moth, or a similar insect, with a tongue of the same or greater length. Some decades after Drawin's death, he was proved right with the discovery of the moth Xanthopan morganii praedicta (the name praedicta means predicted).

The ghostly stellar forms of Angraecum orchids release a sweet fragrance onto the night air, attracting moths as their pollinators. There is no landing platform as moths usually prefer to hover in front of a flower. Abundant sweet nectar is hidden in deep narrow tubes around 30 cm long - only accessible to those with very long tongues such as the famous Madagascan 'Sphinx Moth' (Xanthopan morgani praedicta).

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Mauritius-Specific

The rarest of the orchids is the epiphytic Angraecum cadetii, which was reduced to only thirteen known individuals but is still quite.common on Reunion

Angraecum mauritianum. Poir.

Erect, stems c.25cm tall; flowers white, rather fleshy.

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References

1 - Fred E. HILLERMAN 1992 - A Culture manual for angraecoid orchid growers

2 - Fred E. HILLERMAN & Arthur W. HOLST 1986 - An introduction to the cultivated angraecoid orchids of Madagascar

3 - Isobyl & Eric LA CROIX 1997 - African orchids in the wild and in cultivation

Isobyl LA CROIX, Eric LA CROIX & T. M. LA CROIX 1991 - Orchids of Malawi

Du Puy, David. - Cribb, Phillip. - Bosser, Jean.- Hermans, Johan & Clare
The Orchids of Madagascar
Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1999
ISBN 1 900347 70 9

Aubert Aubert du PETIT-THOUARS - ( Reproduction of the book published in 1822 ) Histoire Particulière des Plantes Orchidées Recueillies sur les Trois Iles Australes d'Afrique

Bechtel, H., P. Cribb, and E. Launert. 1980.
Manual of cultivated orchid species.
MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Hawkes, A. D. (1965)
1987. Encyclopaedia of cultivated orchids.
Faber and Faber, London.

Hillerman, F. E., and A. W. Holst. 1986.
An introduction to the cultivated Angraecoid orchids of Madagascar.
Timber Press, Portland, Ore.

Northen, R. T. 1980.
Miniature orchids.
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

Veitch, James, and Sons. [1887-1894] 1963, 1981.
Manual of orchidaceous plants. Vols. I-II.
James Veitch and Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London.
Reprint, Vol. I, A. Asher and Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
reprint, Vol. II, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Bosser, J. 1987. Contribution à l ' é t u d e des Orchidaceae de Madagascar et des Mascareignes. XXII. Adansonia 3: 249- 254

Strahm, W. and J.M. Bosser. 1996. Mascarene Islands. pp. 107-108 in Hágsater, E. and V. Dumont, (Eds.), Orchids - Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

see also the Bibliography

Links

Charles and Margaret Baker
Le Genre Angraecum Bory by Denise Roucoule (French)

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Where to buy them

UZUMARA ORCHIDS ( Scotland ) : 9 species ( young plants)
WUBBEN ( Netherland ) : 15 species + 1 hybride
KOPF ( Germany ) : 9 species + 1 hybride
KJ ORCHIDS ( Danemark ) : 7 species + 1 hybride
CURRLIN ( Germany ) : 13 species + 2 hybrides
Joël JACQ ( France ) : Around 20 species
ORCHIDEE PASSION ( Belgium ) : 14 species + 3 hybrides
Marcel LECOUFLE ( France ) : 8 species + 1 hybride
HOOSIER COMPANY ( U.S.A. ) : Un certain number of species from the collection of Fred HILLERMAN

See the detailed Links to specialized Nurseries