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Angraecum sesquipedale

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Author: Carl Peter Thunberg 1822
Family:  Orchidaceae
Habitat:   Eastern Madagascar
Soil:   Epiphytic, Sphagnum
Water:   Maximum
Sun:   Medium
Height:  40 centimetres
Flower:   Slightly creamy white
Propagate:   Seeds/Cuttings
Names:   Star of Bethlehem Orchid, Christmas Star Orchid, Comet Orchid, Rocket Orchid
Synonyms:  Aeranthes sesquipedalis, Lindl. 1824.
Macroplectrum sequipedale Pfitzrer 1889.
Angorchis sesquipedalis
Kuntze 1891.
Mystacidium sesquipedale Rolfe 1904.
Angraecum sesquipedale var. angustifolium, Bosser & Morat.

This member of the Orchidaceae family was described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1822. It is found in the forests of the eastern lowlands of Madagascar, mainly growing as an epiphyte. It will grow up to 40 centimetres, receiving lots of water and not much if any direct sun. The flowers are white with a spur up to 35 centimetres deep.

Charles Darwin theorized that, since the nectar was at the bottom of the real long spur, a pollinator must exist with a tongue at least as long as the spur. Many years later (1903), the moth;  Xanthopan morgani praedicta was discovered.

Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Vandaeae
Subtribe: Angraecinae