Angraecum sesquipedale - Orchid Board

Bud · #1 01-23-2012, 03:15 PM

Angraecum sesquipedale, also called Darwin's orchid, Christmas orchid(more like a New Year Orchid for me), Star of Bethlehem orchid, and King of the Angraecums, it’s an epiphytic orchid in the genus Angraecum that is endemic to Madagascar. The orchid was first discovered by the French botanist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars in 1798, but was not described until 1822. It is noteworthy for its long spur and its association with the naturalist Charles Darwin who surmised that the flower was pollinated by a then undiscovered moth with a proboscis whose length was then unprecedented. His prediction had gone unverified until 21 years after his death when the moth was discovered and his conjecture vindicated. The story of its postulated pollinator has come to be seen as one of the celebrated predictions of the theory of evolution.

I have a young plant so it gave me only one bloom while the others who posted this had several flowers on the spike...
The fragrance comes noticeable around midlight so when I come home from work around 1am; I notice the smell 2 to 3 feet away from it; kinda like almond toffee...in the daytime even if I put my nose close to the flower; theres nothing to smell at all ...