Angraecum ID

[TedM]

I have been growing this Angraecum for over 30 years now, probably closer to 40 - so long that I don't even remember where I got it! I believe it is an Angraecum, but it never had a tag, so I guess it could be some related genera.

It always blooms reliably this time of year. The plant itself is huge - individual leaves are seldom less that 2 feet (60 cm) long. The flowers, however, are smallish, about 3 1/2 inches tall, 3 inches wide (9 cm tall, 7 to 8 cm wide). As you can see, they are borne "upright" with lip at the bottom. Also note that the nectar spur is short, pointing up behind the top petal. It really looks a lot like an eburnum, except the flowers are the wrong way round and the nectar spur looks shorter.

Thoughts?

[bellini girl]

Wow ! 30 years ...longer than most marriages I'd guess So now instead of saying "get a dog" , it can be " go get an Angraecum, guaranteed for 30 years". No seriously, that's awesome that it blooms every year. You're obviously doing something right.

[WhiteRabbit]

I can't help with i.d. sorry - but it's fabulous!

[TedM]

Thanks for the comments!

Bellini girl, your comment is especially appropriate as my Angraecum has lasted through two marriages!

But as far as doing something right, I don't know what it is as I really tend to neglect this plant, sometimes not repotting it for ten years or more! Because of my climate, I leave it outside all year and water and fertilize as a whim rather than on a schedule. Maybe this accurately replicates the way it gets treated in its natural habitat - whatever, it seems to love it and grows wonderfully.

I'm attaching another picture of it beside my workbench to give you a better idea of its size. That longest leaf is nearly as long as the table leg! On the ground next to it, you can see two of the five kiekis I removed at the last repotting (the other plants are small Cymbidiums).

Anyway, a thought: as I said above, I think it looks a lot like an eburnum (at least some of the ones in Google images). The big difference is that mine is resupinate - the lip is at the bottom, whereas the non-resupinate eburnum has the lip at the top.

Is it possible for eburnum to grow in this orientation? Or is it always upside-down? If eburnum can grow a resupinate flower, I think that's what I've got. The second attached picture is one I found in Google images, identified as Angraecum eburnum, but with a resupinate flower. So is this the answer?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The thing that throws me off are the flowers being non-resupinate (right-side-up).

If these plants were not rotated or moved around a bunch of times while they were forming buds, then I don't have a clue as to why they would turn out to be non-resupinate.

It could be Angraecum eburneum, but it also might be Angcm longicalcar, idk.

Maybe it's a hybrid.

[Goods14]

Looks like eburneum to me. I believe longicalcar is now considered an eburneum subspecies...or at least the last time I checked it was.

[TedM]

King - I agree. The resupinate flowers are a puzzler. The plant has definitely not been moved around. It has been in more-or-less the same location for the entire time I've owned it (30+ years) and it ALWAYS produces resupinate flowers.

The other thing that throws me off is the length of the nectar spur. The ones on my plant are comparatively quite short - barely peeking out from behind the top petal. The ones I see on the Google image results are usually longer, especially on longicalcar.

Guess I have a previously unknown subspecies called "Angraecum eburneum var. shorticalcar resupinatum" LOL.

BTW - sorry for misspelling "eburneum" above!

And thanks to all for the excellent posts!

Ted