Aerangis somalensis (Schltr.) Schltr. 1918 Photo courtesy of David Jubineau and His Bulbophyllum Pages Copyright ©

Flower Closeup Photo courtesy of Takao Ishii and His Orchid Photo Pages Copyright ©

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Common Name or Meaning The Somali Aerangis

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Transvaal South Africa at elevations of 1000 to 1800 meters in thickets near streams, woodlands in dry areas as a small sized, cool to warm growing epiphyte with short stems carrying 2 to 6 distichous, oblong-ligulate to suborbicular,unequally bilobed apically, acute lobes, dark green to purple green leaves that blooms on a axillary, 4 to 8" [10 to 20 cm] long, few to many [2 to 17] flowered inflorescence carrying nocturnally sweetly scented flowers. This species requires a dry rest in the winter from fertilizer and most water and access to bright light and occassional full sun.

Synonyms *Angraecum somalense Schltr. 1906

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Encylopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; An Introduction to the Cultivated Angraecoid Orchids of Madagascar Hillerman & Holst 1986; Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982 photo; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 3 Cribb 1989; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchids Of Kenya Stewart 1996; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 2 Pope 1998; Field Guide to the Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 11 2008 photo; Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008;