According to a text from Marcel Lecoufle
Marcel Lecoufle’s first appeal for Madagascar goes back a long way. It dates from the colonial exhibition of 1931. Among the visitors, Marcel Lecoufle fondly remembers Edmond François, a comrade of his father's promotion at the National School of Horticulture at Versailles. François was then Inspector General of Agriculture in Madagascar. Marcel Lecoufle repeatedly read his book, Plants of Madagascar, published in the memoirs of the Malagasy Academy in 1937.
The keen interest of Marcel Lecoufle for all orchids of the Indian Ocean islands grew when he met Raymond Hein, who would soon become one of his closest friends. Raymond visited France every year, and they shared a substantial correspondence for many years. Marcel Lecoufle himself visited the islands Mauritius and Reunion in 1967.
Marcel Lecoufle met numerous botanists, both in Madagascar and in the Mascarenes islands. Among them, Jean-Pierre Peyrot introduces him to the incredible flora of the vast island of Madagascar, with its startling contrasts. ( Rain drenched and drought suffering areas, places of extreme temperatures and relief).
An expert and collector of orchids, Dr Peyrot devoted all his spare time searching for new species, often in the company of John Bosser from the Orstom Institute.
Jean Bosser moves on to become a consultant for the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Marcel Lecoufle often collaborates, until he himself fully becomes a corresponding member and associate member of the Museum. Together, The two friends were able to import many orchid species from Madagascar, with the assistance of the President of the Société malgache d'Orchidophilie.
(Marcel Lecoufle remembers the time when the famed Tsimbazaza park owned hundreds of species of malagasi orchids in the Antatanarivo botanical garden. Unfortunately,when he last visited the island, Marcel Lecoufle was dismayed to find more species at the general Zouma market in Antatanarivo than in the botanical garden).
Since then, they have continuously developed the Madagascan orchid cultures via the in vitro process. An interesting example of multiplication for the maintenance of species is the Angraecum eburneum var.longicalcar. This variety has never been found anywhere other than in the surroundings of Lake Itasy. This discovery was made in 1964, and successive samples collected in its natural environment. But Marcel lecoufle and Jean Bosser have generated thousands of this precious specie using the in vitro method and it is today cherished by many connoisseurs.
Until the 1970s, "Orchidées Marcel Lecoufle was the only producer of orchids to have a unique collection of Malagasi orchids. While then unknown to most collectors, these spectacular orchids soon attracted a substantial and dedicated following, partly due to its unique shapes. Collectors and afficionados now come from all over the world to admire the species in the Marcel Lecoufle greenhouses. Thus, today's collection of unique orchids of Madagascar will, one day, play a vital role in safeguarding the many endangered species of orchids. This collection is now called National Collection "by the “Conservatoire des Collections Végétales specialisées.”
