Orchid with the LONGEST-LASTING scent

[JanS]

I know we have a super-post for orchids with a strong scent. I have been specializing in fragrant orchids and have now quite a collection. But as of last month, I want to highlight the following orchid as the all time champion:

Anraecum Lemforde (see attached pic.): I bought it at Housermanns while visiting my mom in Chicago a 1.5 year ago. It's not a genus they grow, as it still had traces of protective material within its leaves from recent shipment - don't know where they got it. As for what I bought, I was totally ignorant other than that it was - as per the label -a very fragrant orchid...

Turns out this orchid has a big place in history...and blessed me with flowering last month (and lasting on and on!!): See the long 8 inch-plus "proboscis-type" light green thing in the photo? That's actually part of the flower - and it contains sweet nectar (I tried it!!). Charles Darwin noticed this orchid on his travels and hypothesized that a unique, specialized insect must exist that has an extremely long proboscis to reach the nectar at he end of the long stalk. While nobody believed him then, he was proven correct in time!!!

But most to note, this plant flowers ... and does NOT give up to find that special moth. Mine has been open for over a month and each evening scents the entire room. Yeah, so far over a month, no loss in intensity. The scent is like (my wife and I fight about this) definitely "waxy" rose and multiperfume (me) vs. hints of cinnamon and rose (my wife Valerie).

Point - the absolutely longest-fragrant orchid I have ever owned or heard about!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by JanS

...See the long 8 inch-plus "proboscis-type" light green thing in the photo? That's actually part of the flower - and it contains sweet nectar (I tried it!!)...

I'm not sure if you already know what the "'proboscis-type' light green thing" is, but if you didn't - it's called a spur.

If you already knew, then this would be for everybody else who didn't know.

Many Angraecoids are famous for their elongated spurs.

In the case of many Angraecoids, they have special glands that produce nectar for the pollinator. So not all orchids fool their pollinators into thinking there is a reward when there isn't really one. Some orchids actually do reward their pollinators.

[terryros]

I think that Lemforde is a hybrid of two Angraecum species, including Ang. sesquepedale, which is the orchid for which Darwin proposed the unknown moth as the pollinator. The moth was identified years later. Sesquepedale is known not just as "Darwin's orchid" but also as the "Star of Bethlehem" orchid because it typically blooms around Christmas (mine is in later spike right now). Sesquepedale has an even longer spur (up to 12 inches) than the Lemforde hybrid, because Ang. magdelene (the partner with sesquepedale) is a smaller plant and flower than sesquepedale. I have seen 15+ year old sesquepedale plants at Orchids Limited and they are impressively large/tall, so not the most practical for me as an indoor grower. Lemforde would have been more practical, but I am too drawn to the Darwin story.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Paphluvr]

I thought the scent in Epi. radiatum lasted for a very long time.

[JanS]

Thanks Terryros for the "Star of Bethlehem" info - didn't know that and it makes sense. Also thanks for the mention of "Orchids Limited" - they have a very nice collection of Angraecums. Upon seeing their site, I was tempted to get A. sesquepedale - THE Darwin orchid original, like you say. But since it looks so much like mine, I'll hold out till summer (safer shipping) to get one of their A. ellisii - another super unique FRAGRANT plant. They want $100 for a plant - yikes! - I have never spent that much for an orchid but now am hooked on Angraecums - their flowers last (and continue to be fragrant) 2-3 months!!! How cool is that? And the whole Charles Darwin connection....

[MrHappyRotter]

Well, longest lasting is a pretty ambiguous descriptor.

You seem to be discussing raw number of days (or in this case nights) that a single flower is fragrant.

You might also look at raw number of hours for a single flower. Although it's uncommon, some orchids are fragrant day and night. Of course, usually there's a particular time of day when the fragrance is particularly strong.

Then, instead of just considering a single flower, you might consider the whole spike. While some plants will only ever produce a single flower, some produce many flowers. And, it's more complex than that, because sometimes plants open all their flowers at once, in other cases, the flowers open sequentially.

So, if you're considering an entire spike, there are orchids which are in theory ever blooming, or nearly so. And, in those cases where the flowers are fragrant, an individual spike's long lastingness is essentially infinite. The same goes if you're considering whole plants. There are certainly hybrids, species, an genera that when large enough, can stay perpetually in bloom. So even if individual spikes/flowers don't last long, the plant itself is always in bloom. So, again, if the flowers are scented, then you more or less have an infinitely lasting scented orchid.

Pedantry aside, I'll submit Dendrobium Micro Chip. I suspect many dendrobiums would qualify for longest lasting scent, though, no matter how you defined it. Anyway, Micro Chip produces small clusters of many flowers. The flowers are fragrant, they might not fill a room if you have a small plant, but it's strong enough that you don't have to stick your nose up to it before you catch a whiff. And the flowers are long lasting. Individual spikes/flowers easily last 3 - 4 months. Each growth can bloom multiple times, and the plant can bloom multiple times a year. And once the plant is large enough, it's possible that it will stay in bloom for most or all of the year.

[Leafmite]

The flower is just gorgeous. I have thought about getting a Lemforde at times. So tempting....
Just curious...is Lemforde fragrant both day and night (stronger at night) like the Angraecum Magdalenae? That is one of the things I really love about my mag. During the day, it just perfumes the room but at night, it perfumes the entire floor! I do like the shape of the Lemforde bloom, the addition of the sesquip. has a very nice result.
If you are interested, two other long lasting fragrant ones are Brassavola Little Stars “Yasuji Takaeki' (night fragrant, about two and a half months) and Phal bellina (day fragrant, fills a room or more, successive blooming).

Funny thing about the Den. Microchip. I just bought one from J&L. I am very glad to hear that it is noticeably fragrant. So often I have bought orchids that are said to be fragrant only to be disappointed. :|

[bil]

That Anraecum Lemforde is most impressive. Anyone know where they can be bought in Europe?

[JanS]

"Just curious...is Lemforde fragrant both day and night (stronger at night) like the Angraecum Magdalenae?"

Yes - it is fragrant during the day but a lot less intense and also the scent is a bit different...more like fragrant soap (if that makes any sense).

[RJSquirrel]

your plant and flower look great. my lemford looks like poopy doo...It stays with all the other angracs but it just doesnt grow like the rest of them. Gets the same light same water same food same heat same cold just doesnt grow the same. I dont know what to do with it......I guess Ill look at it somemore and make a post of it one of these days maybe..like a For Sale post.

nice job


my Cycnoches 'jem' wine delight was scented for a very long time . It had so much scent I had to move it outside as it was choking me....give me a headache

mine is actually Angraecum Emily Upside Down

(Angraecum Lemforde White 'Beauty' x Angraecum eburneum var. superbum)