Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the flowering plants were just beginning to diversify allowed many groups to develop their
ownlineage,supplementedoccasionallybythelatercolonisationsofmoreadvancedforms.
ORCHIDS
Clare & Johan Hermans
Like so many other living things on the island, the orchids of Madagascar are ex-
tremelyvaried;andwelloverthree-quartersareendemic.Morethan950differentspe-
cies have been recorded so far and new ones are still being discovered. The orchids
have adapted to every possible habitat, including the spiny forest and the cool high-
land mountain ranges, but their highest density is in the wet forests of the east. Whilst
orchid habitats are becoming scarcer, one or other of them can be seen in flower at
most times of the year; the best season for flowers is the rainy season from January to
March.
Some of the most memorable orchids are to be found in the eastern coastal area,
which is the habitat of large Angraecums , Eulophiellas and Cymbidiellas . Many are
epiphyteslivingontreebranchesortrunks;anchoredbytheirrootstheyscrambleover
their host collecting moisture and nutrients, but they are not parasites.
Angraecumeburneum canbeseeninflowerfromSeptembertoMay,itsthickleath-
ery leaves forming a half-metre-wide fan shape; the flower stems reach above the
leaves carrying a number of large greenish-white fragrant flowers. Like many Mala-
gasy orchids the blooms are strongly scented and white in colour to attract pollinating
moths at night.
The comet orchid, A. sesquipedale , is one of the most striking. It flowers from June
to November and the plants are similar to A. eburneum but are slightly more com-
pact.Individualflowerscanbe26cmacrossandover30cmlongincludingthelengthy
nectary spur, characteristic for the angraecoid orchids, at the back of the flower. The
flower was described by Charles Darwin at the end of the 19th century when he pre-
dicted that there would be a moth with a very long tongue that could reach down to
thenectaratthebottomofthespur.Thisideawasridiculedbyhiscontemporaries,but
in 1903 - more than two decades after his death - he was proved right: a hawk moth
with a proboscis of over 30cm ( Xanthopan morganii praedicta ) was discovered, and
it has recently been caught on film pollinating this orchid.
Aeranthes plants look similar to Angraecum . Their spider-like greenish flowers are
suspended from long thin stems, gently nodding in the breeze.
Eulophiellaroempleriana ,whichcanreachalmost2mtall,isnowveryrare.Oneof
thefewremainingplantscanbeseenonIleauxNattes,offIleSainteMarie.Thelarge,
deep pink flowers are well worth the pirogue trip to the island. A few more of these
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