Aerangis arachnopus (Rchb. f.) Schltr. 1918

Photo by Danny Lentz

Part shadeHotSpring

Common Name The Spider-Like Column Foot Aerangis

Found in Ghana, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabona and Zaire in evergreen forests or on old citrus trees below elevations of 400 to 1000 meters with 4 to 6, oblanceolate to obovate, rather light green, unequally and obtusely bilobed apically leaves borne in a fan-shape that blooms in the spring on apendant, very slender, to 24" [60 cm] long, fractiflex rhachis, 3 to 8 flowered inflorescence .

"The characteristic features of the species are the long more or less flexuous inflorescence with the flowers spaced out at intervals of 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm.], and the column distinctly narrowed and terete below the stigma. The spur is about 2.4 to 2.8" [6 to 7 cm] in length and more or less L-shaped with the bend below the middle. There is considerable variation in the size of the leaves, which range from 2.8 to 7.2" [7 to 18 cm] in length and from .8 to 2.2" [2 to 5.5 cm]in breadth.' Summerhayes 1949

Synonyms *Angraecum arachnopus Rchb. f. 1854

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1854 as Angraecum arachnopus;

Kew Bull. 4: 442 Summerhayes 1949

Kew Bull. 11: 236 Summerhayes 1956 Cultivated Angaecoid Orchids Of Madagascar Hillerman & Holst 1986; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997 drawing/photo fide; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006 photo; Orchid Digest Vol 70 #4 2006 photo fide;

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