''Neobathiea grandidierana'' is a species of orchid from Madagascar and the

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

. It is named after the French naturalist

Alfred Grandidier Alfred Grandidier (20 December 1836 – 13 September 1921) was a French naturalist and explorer. From a very wealthy family, at the age of 20, he and his brother, Ernest Grandidier (1833–1912), undertook a voyage around the world. At first ...

, who devoted his life to the study of Madagascar. Among the 6 described species of '' Neobathiea'', this species is the most widely distributed within Madagascar, occurring in

Antsiranana Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History The bay and city originally u ...

, Antananarivo,

Fianarantsoa Fianarantsoa is a city (commune urbaine) in south central Madagascar, and is the capital of Haute Matsiatra Region. History It was built in the early 19th century by the Merina as the administrative capital for the newly conquered Betsileo king ...

, and Toliara. In the Comoros, it occurs in Anjouan and

Grande Comore Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...

. The habitat of this species is humid forest on west-faching slopes at the elevation range of 1000-1650m. In nature, the flowering season of this species is spring to early summer. The long-spurred ''Neobathiea grandidierana'' from Madagascar is pollinated by a long-tongued sphinginid hawkmoth ''

Panogena lingens ''Panogena lingens'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. It is similar, but much darker than '' Panogena jasmini''. The abdomen has yellow lateral patches. The hindwing upperside is black at ...

'' with the pollinaria deposited on the basal part of the proboscis of the moth.

References

External links

* * Orchids of Madagascar Plants described in 1885 grandidierana {{Vandeae-stub