Friday, February 14, 2014

Pretty picture: Angraecum sesquipedale

Another photo taken from a distance. Hence the blurriness. Though my camera doesn't handle whites and reds well anyway, so it would likely have been blurry if I'd gotten close too.

I do kind of like the flower. Maybe I'm just reacting to the shape? (It's different from the rounded petals and sepals of Phalaenopsis, therefore it's good?)


2 comments:

orchideya said...

Nice. It is supposed to be very fragrant during the night. Sadly I lost mine to mealies before I could convince it to bloom... They also call it Darwin orchid, you can google the story behind it.

Paul said...

A beautiful species. The flowers have extremely heavy substance -- they feel rather like plastic -- and are strongly fragrant. One of the interesting characteristics of this orchid is its nectar spur which is often 12 inches long. Unfortunately, though long lasting, they do not last as long as phal flowers do.

This species, btw, is also known as Darwin's Orchid in honor of Charles Darwin. When he discovered this species on Madagascar, he hypothesized that the pollinator must have a tongue that length. Everyone was certain he was being delusional. Years after his death, the pollinator was finally discovered ... It turned out to be a moth with a 12 inch long tongue.