# Angracoids species saved



## Shiva (Jan 20, 2011)

I'm pleased to announce to my fellow ST members that Les Orchidophiles de Montreal has secured the National collection of Madagascan orchids from Marcel Lecoufle in France. Nearly 300 madagascan orchids, mostly angraecoid species selected for their qualities over many decades have been bought by the society and given to the Montreal Botanic Garden. The transfer of the collection from France to Canada will be made official before our spring show, Orchidexpo.
The enterprise ''Les Orchidées Marcel Lecoufle''will close its doors more than 60 years after its foundation. The owner Marcel Lecoufle is now 97 years old and there is no surviving relative to take over.
This collection represents the most valuable and the largest of angracoid orchids in the world. And sad to say, a majority of these species can no longer be found in Madagascar.


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## JeanLux (Jan 20, 2011)

Good to read this!!!!

but I have a problem of understanding; here an extract of his site ( in french unfortunately):

_Marcel Lecoufle a su transmettre sa passion et ses connaissances à sa fille Geneviève Lecoufle puis à sa petite fille Isabelle Bert Incandela, qui sont maintenant les quatrième et cinquième générations d'orchidéistes dans la famille_

I have been there several times some years ago (saw a lot of those african orchids), and met those 2 charming mesdames; Is their business to stop, or..???? 

Jean


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## Shiva (Jan 20, 2011)

JeanLux said:


> Good to read this!!!!
> 
> but I have a problem of understanding; here an extract of his site ( in french unfortunately):
> 
> ...



Yes! the chosen heir Geneviève Lecoufle has cancer and has survived by months already her initial pronostic. Doesn't seem Isabelle can take over either or alone. As for the enterprise, it's located on land worth millions of Euros and promoters can't wait to get their hands on it. The encroaching municipality of Boissy St-Léger also needs expanding space. It would mean moving the enterprise somewhere else in France and considering the age of Marcel, this is unthinkable. So if you want to buy more plants there, now is the time. :drool:


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## JeanLux (Jan 20, 2011)

Shiva said:


> Yes! the chosen heir Geneviève Lecoufle has cancer and has survived by months already her initial pronostic.....



Thanks so much for that clarification, and too bad for Geneviève  !!! Jean

(they did have lots of those great africans!!!!)


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## NYEric (Jan 20, 2011)

Sad news for a National French institute! But, Good news for Montreal, I'll be there to pick up my new plants thanx!


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## Shiva (Jan 20, 2011)

NYEric said:


> Sad news for a National French institute! But, Good news for Montreal, I'll be there to pick up my new plants thanx!



We need to meet face to face this time.


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## NYEric (Jan 20, 2011)

OK, I'll be the American guy running around at 300 mph!


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## SlipperFan (Jan 20, 2011)

Good news for Montreal and the Madagascan orchids!


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## Xmpraedicta (Jan 22, 2011)

This is such incredible news - will the collection be on display in Montreal? I will have to make a trip there to see it when it arrives. Super excited.


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## Shiva (Jan 22, 2011)

Welcome to ST Calvin.
I don't have the answer yet. What I know is that the Montreal Botanical Garden has several greenhouses where the public is not generally admitted. I'ts likely that the plants will be housed in them and taken out in the public greenhouses once in flower. There will be some ceremonies when the news is made official before our spring show Orchidexpo, first weekend of april. I would imagine this would be a good time to show them all to the public. But as I said, I'm not privy to what the MBG is planning. It would be fun if they could have a special section at Orchidexpo. I'll make that suggestion to my orchid society and let you know what happens. :drool:


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jan 22, 2011)

This is very interesting news. 

Is the Montreal show at Collège de Maisonneuve? If so, where in Montreal is that exactly? Is there hotel accomodations? Inquiring minds want to know?


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## Shiva (Jan 22, 2011)

Yoyo_Jo said:


> This is very interesting news.
> 
> Is the Montreal show at Collège de Maisonneuve? If so, where in Montreal is that exactly? Is there hotel accomodations? Inquiring minds want to know?



Yes! It's in the East end of town near the Montreal Botanical Garden, the Olympic Stadium and the Biodome. Most hotels are in downtown but they're a short subway or cab ride to the exposition. There's also a subway exit (Pie IX) near the college. A cab ride from downtown should be about $15. (Now I have become a travel agent :rollhappy


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## Xmpraedicta (Jan 22, 2011)

Shiva said:


> Welcome to ST Calvin.
> I don't have the answer yet. What I know is that the Montreal Botanical Garden has several greenhouses where the public is not generally admitted. I'ts likely that the plants will be housed in them and taken out in the public greenhouses once in flower. There will be some ceremonies when the news is made official before our spring show Orchidexpo, first weekend of april. I would imagine this would be a good time to show them all to the public. But as I said, I'm not privy to what the MBG is planning. It would be fun if they could have a special section at Orchidexpo. I'll make that suggestion to my orchid society and let you know what happens. :drool:



Thanks for the welcome! 

What a perfect reason to visit la belle province and Montreal


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## ronan (Jan 24, 2011)

Well, i was told it's not "exactly" the truth...this collection is a national one, a classified one, and your society only bought divisions and species they have in more than one copy.
thus it's right that all members of this well known familly, part of the orchids history will die, and that the nursery will close his door one day, but not yet...let them live a little more please...

it's great to protect species from madagascar and canada is welcome to do so, maybe they will do better than france, but please there's nothing to secure and orchids friends seems to be more respectfull with Lecoufle's familly than you are, this collection is Lecoufle's one *for ever
*; :wink:


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## Shiva (Jan 24, 2011)

Well! I've heard different and from a very reliable source. But since it has not been officially announced I'm willing to leave it at that. :snore:
And I do admire the Lecoufle and especially the courage of Geneviève and the magnificent perseverance of Marcel. Believe me when I say I never meant any ill for the family and their enterprise. I guess I was rejoicing too much and too early for saving the collection. For that, I apologize.


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## ronan (Jan 24, 2011)

"We" were told by Isabelle Bert herself, Marcel's Granddaughter...
no problem!


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## oisifml (Jan 26, 2011)

Hello all, 
Here in France this surprise announcement has been the subject of a few posts, after the dust has settled, it seems that M. Lecoufle is indeed selling some plants over to a society in Canada. 

This of course is not “the collection” which is classified meaning it has in this country been given a status that is worthy of consideration and that hinders the possibility of sale ( of course there are legal and fiscal advantages linked to the status) but they are venerable duplicates of rare angrecoids some as old and impressive as the plants in the collection…

I know this is a forum on Slipper orchids but on a personal level I do feel that angrecoids have become the paupers of the orchid world; they come from an island ( Madagascar) or a continent (Africa) that is considered by many a wasted doomed land.

Angrecoids are not really impressive in looks, their flowers are usually whitish, greenish, yellowish.. often the same shape and apart from a few star plants (sesquipedale and the like) they are modest in demeanor…

When you look around in nurseries and orchid places it’s hard to find more than 20 varieties of angraecums available.. yet they are hundred of species.. most forgotten and on the verge of extinction in Madagascar if not already extinct. 

There is little hybridation been done of angraecums: they are not sexy… if one were to find a RED angreacum of course it would be a different story:evil:.
And sometimes new angraecoids are found.. or ones that were believed extinct ( A. palmatum) and then they are lost again…

Madagascar is bereft with so many human problems that the fate on angracoids is not really on top of the list. The forest that shelter them are been destroyed at a fast pace and the laws are so absurd at times that you can legally chop down a forest yet you can’t collect the orchids that lived on the trees. Go figure.

Of course when Marcel Lecoufle did his expeditions in Madagascar ( a not so ancient French colony) awareness of the situation was not as strident.. his collecting in these days would be called pilferage nowadays ( although he collected under the patronage of the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle)

But it’s a sad and ironic fate that some angraecoids now exist only in some specialized collections like Lecoufle and no more in Madagascar or Africa.
Let us hope that this new future collection in Canada might incite some collectors and growers to take a fresh look at this genus:wink:


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## NYEric (Jan 26, 2011)

oisifml said:


> There is little hybridation been done of angraecums: they are not sexy… if one were to find a RED angreacum of course it would be a different story:evil:.
> And sometimes new angraecoids are found.. or ones that were believed extinct ( A. palmatum) and then they are lost again…


Sounds familiar!!  Yay besseae!


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## Xmpraedicta (Jan 26, 2011)

oisifml said:


> There is little hybridation been done of angraecums: they are not sexy… if one were to find a RED angreacum of course it would be a different story.
> And sometimes new angraecoids are found.. or ones that were believed extinct ( A. palmatum) and then they are lost again…



I beg to differ - those 8" long spurs are mighty sexy if you ask me oke: :evil: 

Actually they've hybridized angraecum with phalaenopsis (an unfortunate random pink hybrid, instead of something fascinating like Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica) to produce "something" that has pink coloration...weirdly (and irritatingly) it seems the phalaenopsis parent is heavily dominant. 

Personally I find that somewhat sacrilegious, but perhaps future more colorful hybrids will incite some more interest. 

Malala is the one nursery that does exports every year of these wonderful orchids to N. America at least - hopefully some of you might be inspired to grow more of these strange and interesting plants.


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## Shiva (Jan 26, 2011)

Xmpraedicta said:


> I beg to differ - those 8" long spurs are mighty sexy if you ask me oke: :evil:



Every month of may, the Montreal Botanical Garden sells off divisions of beautiful orchid species and hybrids through the Montreal Orchid Society. It's called Le Rendez-vous horiticole. There are also a large number of rare plant dealers present. You can find more information by Googling Montreal Botanical Garden.
This spring, the MBG will have to make some space to house its new angracoid collection, which means probably many more beautiful orchids to sell off in may.
Isn't that a happy thought? :drool:


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## paphjoint (Jan 27, 2011)

Salut Jean

According to another website - they are not closing down - they just want to downsize the company. 

They will apparently also keep an important collection of Angracoids only giving duplicates away

http://gazette-des-jardins.les-foru...res-orchidees-de-marcel-lecoufle/goto/215775/




JeanLux said:


> Good to read this!!!!
> 
> but I have a problem of understanding; here an extract of his site ( in french unfortunately):
> 
> ...


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## NYEric (Jan 27, 2011)

Hmmmmm, sort of like Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. I wish i could get paperwork to ship home!


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## JeanLux (Jan 27, 2011)

paphjoint said:


> Salut Jean
> 
> According to another website - they are not closing down - they just want to downsize the company.
> 
> ...



Thanks a lot for the link Uri!!!! Jean


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## Shiva (Jan 27, 2011)

NYEric said:


> Hmmmmm, sort of like Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. I wish i could get paperwork to ship home!



I may be able to help you there Eric.  The Montreal society is making a large import from Lecoufle to be delivered in time for Orchidexpo. I could send you the list of plants offered if you send me your email address.  The deadline is for February 16th.


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