Leopard Orchid (ansellia africana nilotica)

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is home to many animals, and we also cultivate plants from those animals’ habitats. You may see some of these plants in the animals” habitats or you can see them in our Victorian Greenhouse. Many of the plants are endangered, just like the animals.​

DESCRIPTION: Just like its Leopard namesake, markings vary from plant to plant. Flowers are very variable in size, ranging from around an inch, to nearly three inches in some of the finer and larger growing forms cultivated in South Africa. Petals and sepal are essentially equal in size and carriage, with a smaller lip. Form is open and flat, with some of the best forms being relatively full. Most people comment on the strong musky fragrance. These plants  are formed of upright clusters of slender, cigar-shaped pseudobulbs crowned with five to seven leaves that may be held generally upright to slightly arching. The leaves are broad along their length, tapering to a roundly pointed tip. Leaves are typically medium green, while the pseudobulbs range from greenish cream to a mustardy yellow color.

RANGE: Tropical and south Africa.

HABITAT: Leopard Orchids do well in frost-free areas.

Photo: American Orchid Society