Angraecum sesquipedale var. angustifolium
I bought this plant at a show because it was cheap. I’d been growing A. sesquipedale for ages before this, but hadn’t managed to flower it (not big enough). As this present plant is no larger, I didn’t expect blooms from it either. It turns out that A. sesquipedale var. angustifolium is rather smaller in its proportions than the standard form of the species, with narrower, leaves and much less spread. A compact species all round, it has powdery-looking, almost glaucous stiff foliage which tends to curve upwards. Whether this plant should be given its own species status is open to debate, but it is my feeling that it probably should. It is no more difficult to grow than any of the larger Angraecum species or hybrids. All the same rules apply; flowers in winter, sulks when disturbed, etc.
I was quite surprised to see an inflorescence emerging, as I’d thought that the plant was too small, but from my research it seems that it is doing exactly as it should. The inflorescence is very short, and bears only one flower. While smaller than the regular A. sesquipedale, the flower is still large, and appears even more so because of the size of the plant. The characteristic long spur is there, not quite a foot and a half in length, but impressive nevertheless. It is night-scented as you’d expect. The flower opens greenish, fading to ivory and eventually white as it ages. No need to stake the inflorescence as the flower is held quite close to the main stem.
I grow it in Orchiata so I don’t have to repot too often. It grows easily, if slowly, through the year. Typically, only a couple of new leaves are produced each year. I’m hoping that subsequent bloomings will give me more than one inflorescence, though I wouldn’t necessarily expect the flower count per inflorescence to increase.
