Object Details
Description
This Madagascan orchid grows on boulders littered with rich pockets of nutritious leaf matter. Madelaine’s Angreacum has large white flowers with a delicious scent that becomes stronger at night. It also has an interesting story. Although the orchid is listed as being discovered by the French naturalist H. Perrier, he made a note at the time that it should be called Madelaine’s Angreacum, for the lovely woman who discovered it on a mountain and then cultivated it, Madelaine Drouhard. Two years later, they were married. Whether Perrier “borrowed” Drouhard’s work, or they were a botanical team is a mystery of history.
Provenance
From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin
Accession Number
2011-1992A
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Life Form
Lithophytic
Bloom Characteristics
Short inflorescence is .8-1.2" long with 1-5 large, fleshy, white flowers. Flowers are 3-4" across and can last 4-6 weeks.
Fragrance
Spicy, jasmine; at night
Range
Madagascar
Habitat
Near quartzite boulders in leaf litter; 800-2000m
See more items in
Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection
Common Name
Madelaine's Angraecum
The Snow-White Angraecum
Group
[vascular plants]
Class
Equisetopsida
Subclass
Magnoliidae
Superorder
Lilianae
Order
Asparagales
Family
Orchidaceae
Subfamily
Epidendroideae
Genus
Angraecum
Species
magdalenae
Data Source
Smithsonian Gardens
Topic
Orchids
Living Collections
Link to Original Record
Record ID
ofeo-sg_2011-1992A