Angraecum didieri

Angraecum dideri is from Madagascar and is a small plant in comparison to some of the other species in the genus. Its roots, however, ramble everywhere and it is always for that reason a bit difficult to contain in my limited space. The plant is an elongated fan of leaves which grows to 20 cm and produces new growths along the stem (there are two new growths on my plant, one of which is blooming). The flowers, produced one or two per spike, are 6 cm with a 10 cm nectary or spur extending from the back of the flower. The flowers are a very pale green with a while lip and are fragrant at night.

On another note, the long nectary must mean the pollinator, a night-flying moth, has a tongue that long, as indeed it does. A related species, Angraecum sesquipedale, has a nectary that is 30 cm long and Darwin predicted that a moth would be found with a tongue that long. The moth was discovered after his death and given the species name praedicta in honor of Darwin.