Botanical illustration of Angraecum eburneum from Curtis Botanic Magazine.
Species Description
Angraecum eburneum is a “…noble, strong growing free-flowering Orchid from Madagascar, with very thick and broad light green stiff foliage, eighteen inches long; the flowers are of ivory whiteness, produced on upright spikes eighteen inches long, and if kept from damp, last four or five weeks in perfection. It blooms during the winter months, and is, on that account, valuable.” (Source: Classic Orchid Grower’s Manual by B.S. Williams.)
Varieties and Cultivars
Angraecum eburneum superbum is “a fine variety of Angraecum eburneum, brought from Madagascar by the late Rev. W. Ellis, of Hoddesdon. It is stronger in growth than the former; the blooms are very large, ivory white, open about the same time as those of Angraecum eburneum, and continue a long time in beauty.” (Source: Classic Orchid Grower’s Manual by B.S. Williams.)
Angraecum eburneum virens is “a free-flowering variety, the flower spikes of which are not so stiff, and are therefore more graceful, than those of Angraecum eburneum. The blossoms are greenish white, and the plant has dark green foliage, about ten inches long. In perfection during December and January.” (Source: Classic Orchid Grower’s Manual by B.S. Williams.)
Synonyms
- Angraecum eburneum virens
Publications
- Classic Orchid Grower’s Manual
- “Curtis’s Botanical Magazine” vol. 80 (Ser. 3 no. 10) pl. 4761
- Gravure de l’orchidée Angraecum eburneum subsp.superbum, réalisée par Louis Marie Aubert-Aubert Du Petit-Thouars (1758-1831) et incluse dans son ouvrage: “Histoire particulières des plantes orchidées recueillies sur les trois îles autrales de l’Afrique” Paris 1822. Pl.62. (sous le nom d’Angraecum superbum).
- Edwards’s Botanical Register, volume 18 plate 1522
- “Curtis’s Botanical Magazine” vol. 86 (Ser. 3 no. 16) pl. 5170
- Dictionnaire Iconographique des Orchidees