Today a fascinating excerpt from a book published in 1891 arrived on my doorstep and included a description of Plectrilmenthus caudatus. (A PDF scan of the original is attached, and for convenience it is transcribed below.) What amazes me is that 122 years later, much of what was written is still true. In my opinion, angraecoids are some of the most remarkable and attractive orchids. And even the author's observation that Plectrelminthus caudatus are not widely grown because not many are available and they can be somewhat challenging to cultivate is also still true. This old book also included a lovely lithographed drawing of Plectrelminthus caudatus. And I wouldn't be surprised if this lovely lithograph set gardeners hunting for one of these plants--just as photographs do today.
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| Angraecum caudatum Drawn for The Garden by H. G. Moon. Lithographed and printed by Guillaume Severyns May 9, 1891 |
Excerpt from: "The Garden: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches," May 9, 1891, London. Page 436.
Garden Flora.
Plate 804.
Angraecums.
(with coloured plate of A. caudatum.)
There is no genus of tropical orchids whose
flowers are at once so beautiful and so remarkable in structure as are those of
the cultivated Angraecums. So much might safely have been said of them
ten years ago, but during the past few years many new and valuable species have
been added to our collections, and the genus is now undoubtedly one of the most
attractive in the tropical section of the family. With the exception of a
single species—A. falcatum, which is confined to Japan—Angraecums are
exclusively African.[i]
They are found in considerable abundance on both the eastern and western
sides of the continent, but the finest representatives are natives of
Madagascar and the neighboring islands. With regard to A. falcatum, it is
remarkable that a species should be found so widely removed from its fellows,
and under conditions so different from those under which they exist; it is a
problem in geographical botany whose solution would be interesting. None
of the flowers of the Angraecums as yet introduced to this country are
characterized by bright color; they are usually of some shade of white,
sometimes as pure as snow, but frequently with an ivory-like or creamy tinge.
In several species the sepals, petals and spur are pale green. The
one character in the flower which distinguishes the genus so markedly and
renders some of the species so interesting is the extraordinary development of
the spur. In A. sesquipedale, caudatum and ellisi this organ varies from
6 inches to 15 inches in length, dimensions which are not approached in any but
closely allied genera like Aeranthus [sic].[ii] In habit these
plants may be compared to Vandas, being purely epiphytical, and having, as in
that genus, the leaves arranged in two opposite rows on the stem, being devoid
of pseudo-bulbs, and the leaves being leathery or sub-fleshy in texture.
Each genus contains also one or more species with cylindrical foliage.
The number of species known, either in a dried state or in cultivation is
very large. A considerable proportion of them, however, are of no value
except as curiosities; others, except in size and character of foliage, are
very much alike so that the species described below may be said to fairly
represent the genus so far as applies to that portion with which orchid growers
in general are concerned.
A. caudatum.—Although this species was
discovered and introduced to European gardens about 1832, it has always been,
as it is today, a rare plant. This is partly owing to the comparatively
small number that have been imported but more to the difficulty which has
always been experienced in keeping it in a healthy condition. There are
probably many growers and possessors of orchids who have not seen it.
[i] Angraecum
falcatum is now classified as Neofinetia falcata and is not considered to be either
an Angraecum or an angraecoid. Furthermore, there are also angraecoid
orchids in North and South America such as those from the genus Dendrophylax.
[ii] A. caudatum is
now classified as Plectrelminthus caudatus, and Angraecum ellisii is now
classified as Aerangis ellisii.
