Acampe orchid

Madagascar is home to more than a thousand species of orchids (10% of the total Malagasy flora), of which about 900 are endemic.
They can be found almost in every habitat of the island, from the rainforest to the high mountain and the spiny forest.
Many species are epiphytic, which means they live attached to trees and exploit them as a substrate. Others grow on rocks (lithophyte) or in the soil.
Most of the species endemic to Madagascar belong to 2 subfamilies, the Epidendroideae and the Orchidoideae; only 8 species are included in the Vanilloideae, like the most famous one (Vanilla planifolia), from which vanilla essence is extracted. This species represents a really important source for the Malagasy economy, as the vanilla is exported: Madagascar represents the first exporter in the world, competing with Indonesia, and the "vanilla Bourbon" variety is considered as a product of excellence.
Acampe spp. orchid belongs to the Epidendroideae subfamily, and is not a genus endemic of the island, since it is distributed in almost all tropical Africa.
It is really common thanks to its ability to grow in different habitats (humid or dry forests, mangals – i.e., mangrove habitats) and colonize several substrates.
It prefers to grow as an epiphyte on tamarind (Tamarindus indica) trees.
This species has aerial roots to catch humidity from the air, and its flowers are small and fragrant, ranging from pale yellow to light green, with red-fuchsia spots.
The flowers are hermaphrodite, containing both male and female reproductive structures.
The fruits are ellipsoidal capsules, that contain many little seeds. A peculiarity is the symbiosis between this plant and the fungi that live inside its tissues: only when the fungi infect the seeds, the last ones are able to germinate. This mutualistic relationship is good for the fungi, because they live protected inside the plant, and for the seeds too, that receive the nourishment to germinate.
These orchids are also able to reproduce asexually, without the involvement of flowers, fruits, seeds and pollinator animals: the main body of the plant can produce buds, thus a new specimen can develop. These buds may also detach and disperse in the surroundings, enabling the plant to colonize farthest environments.
The subfamily Epidendroideae also counts commercially important genera like Phalaenopsis, the most purchased orchids in Europe, the ones found also at the supermarket.