Diaphananthe, Schlechter, 1915

Cribb, Phillip & Carlsward, Barbara, 2012, New combinations in Aerangis, Diaphananthe and Podangis (Orchidaceae, subtribe Angraecinae), Phytotaxa 71 (1), pp. 42-47 : 43

Diaphananthe and Chamaeangis

Schlechter (1918) established the genus Chamaeangis for a number of African angraecoid orchids that were distinguished by having a many-flowered inflorescence of small flowers, often borne in whorls along the rachis. However, some Diaphananthe species , such as D. fragrantissima ( Reichenbach 1865: 190) Schlechter (1918: 100) , also bear their flowers in whorls along the rachis. Furthermore, the similarity in the floral structure of the African species of Chamaeangis with those of Diaphananthe has been long recognised by orchid taxonomists like Senghas (1986) who grouped the two genera in the same key couplet. He distinguished Chamaeangis from Diaphananthe by its short stem, lack of callus at the base of the lip in the mouth of the spur and small oval lip. None of these characters alone is diagnostic of the genus. Szlachetko (2003) illustrated the similarity of the column and pollinarium morphologies of Chamaeangis odoratissima ( Reichenbach 1856: 326) Schlechter (1918: 108) and Diaphananthe fragrantissima , showing that both have a large stigma, tapering bifid rostellum and two porate pollinia, each attached to its own tegula and a single viscidium.

Carlsward et al. (2006) included three species of Diaphananthe sensu stricto (most recent studies recognised the genus Rhipidoglossum Schlechter (1918: 80) as distinct from Diaphananthe , which has been confirmed by molecular analyses) and four species of Chamaeangis in their phylogenetic analyses of Afro- Malagasy vandaceous orchids. Given the similarity in morphology and supporting molecular evidence, we have no doubt that Chamaeangis should be included in Diaphananthe .