Angraecum sesquipedale

Object Details

Description: Some orchids contain mysteries. Angraecum sesquipedale is an orchid with an unusual adaptation – a long hollow spur which holds nectar that only a moth with a very long, straw-like tongue, or proboscis, can gather. In 1862, when none other than Charles Darwin first examined this orchid, no such moth was known to exist. Darwin predicted that if an orchid with a 12-inch-long nectar spur existed, then there must be a moth with a 12 inch tongue. Darwin was laughed at until 1903, when such a moth was discovered. The orchid became known as Darwin’s Orchid.
Bloom Time (Northern Hemisphere): November to May
Pollination Syndrome: Moth (hawkmoth, Xanthopan morganii var. praedicta)
Provenance: From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin

Life Form: Lithophytic
Bloom Characteristics: Erect to arching inflorescence is 15-18" (38-46 cm) long with 1-4 (and rarely 6) white, waxy, star-shaped flowers. Flowers are 6-8" (15-20 cm) across, long-lasting, and can be as long as 18" (46 cm) to the base of its nectar spur. It is the largest angraecoid orchid. The flowers are greenish when they first open, but turn white after 2-3 days.
Fragrance: Jasmine scented at night
Plant Size: 18-36" x 24-40" (46-91 x 61-102 cm), excluding inflorescence

Range: E to SE Madagascar
Habitat: Near the edge of coastal woods with heavy rainfall and no dry season; 0-330ft (0-100m)

Common Name: Christmas Orchid; Comet Orchid; Darwin's Orchid; The One and a Half Foot Long Angraecum
Group: [vascular plants]
Class: Equisetopsida
Subclass: Magnoliidae
Superorder: Lilianae
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Angraecum
Species: sesquipedale

Smithsonian Gardens

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ax735ba186b-a0e8-4d04-9b7a-e8fbaadbd670