Paphiopedilum Gallery Two

Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum
(Lindley ex Hooker) Stein (1892.)

   The P. hirsutissimum complex occurs in Southwest China (Guizhu, Yunnan Provinces) and North Viet Nam. The typical habitats of P. hirsutissimum occur on steep, strongly eroded limestone cliffs, often near to the mouth of caves, providing a kind of natural "air conditioning" by exhalating cool, moist atmosphere throughout the year.

   The region where this complex occurs was practically inaccessible for a long time to foreigners. However, recently a number of more-or-less distinct varieties and species were and are year-by-year discovered there.

   Here is a listing of several members of this group:

Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum var . esquirolei (Schlechter) Cribb (1987.) Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum var . chiwuanum Cribb (1987.)
Paphiopedilum herrmannii Fuchs et Reisinger (1995.)
Paphiopedilum saccopetalum Hua (1998.)

Paphiopedilum henryanum
Braem (1987.)

   Named in honor of Henry Azadehdel, who, for the first time in the history of mankind was sentenced on 6 June 1989, in the Old Bailey (London, UK), was ordered to pay £20,000 in fines and costs and was jailed - for illegal orchid collecting and trading.

   The scientific description was published in the first issue of Schlechteriana, the German academic orchid periodical - also under scandalous circumstances.

   Echoes of the Azadehdel case reverberated around the world. Eighteen months of investigations spanning four continents resulted from Hong Kong to Germany and beyond in arrests, heavy penalties, confiscations of thousands of illegally collected orchids.

   For the innocent orchid hobbyists the history of P. henryanum whispers a lot about the dark abysses of greed, jealousy, and ruthlessness which accompanies the illicit trade in orchids - up to today.

   P. henryanum is endemic to Sourhwest China and the neighbouring areas in Laos and North Viet Nam, traditionally out of bounds for foreigners.

   The habitats are forests on weathered limestone rocks, where in certain places P. henryanum accompanies members of the P. hirsutissimum complex.

Paphiopedilum bellatulum
(Reichenbach f.) Stein (1892.)

   Native to Burma and Thailand.

   Paphiopedilum bellatulum habitats may be moss-covered limestone boulders in the vicinity of bamboo thickets on the cool upper slopes of high peaks, where they receive condensation by dew and cloudcaps.

   At other places these orchids grow tightly wedged in the vertical or horizontal fissures of the marble base rock and their roots are buried in completely saturated clay loam - with humus of leaves as top dressing.

The rainy season lasts from May to October. Winter is from November to Februray. January and February have very low night temperatures of 0 ºC (32 ºF), but day temperatures of 20 ºC (68 ºF) to 25 ºC (77 ºF). Summer, or the hot season, is the shorthest, lasting from March to April, with high daytime temperatures of 34 ºC (93 ºF) and 15 ºC (59 ºF) at night.

In nature the flowering period is in June - July. Flower shape, size and color patterns are rather variable.

Paphiopedilum hybrid 'Gege Hughes'

   You might find the term "xanthochroistic" mentioned at various places of this site; here is an example how a xanthochroistic, that is, yellow-colored mutant looks like.

   The biosynthesis of anthocyanines, the colored compounds responsible for flower colors consist of at least sixteen steps proceeding from colorless through yellow, orange, red and violet to blue.

   The "final" flower color and color pattern depends on how many steps indeed do take place in tissue regions of a flower, on the actual mixture of colored intermediates plus the often very numerous colored byproducts present.

   In white, "alba" mutants that synthesis chain is broken at very early stages preceding the formation of colored compounds while in xanthochroistic mutants the synthesis proceeds somewhat further, resulting in more-or-less yellow(ish) color shades.

Paphiopedilum hybrid 'Leah Hanes'

This is a Cochlopetalum type hybrid; its parents were Paphiopedilum 'Gwenpur' x Paphiopedilum 'Caddiana'.

Paphiopedilum hybrid

Parents of this neat hybrid are
Paphiopedilum 'Red Hanes' x Paphiopedilum 'Varina Vaughn'.

Paphiopedilum hybrid 'Rosy Dawn'

This hybrid inherited its light color and several other features of the flower from ancestors belonging to the Brachypetalum section of the slipper orchids.

Mount Kinabalu - Sabah, Kalimantan


	References

	Braem, G. J.:	Paphiopedilum henryanum. A new species from China.
		Schlecteriana 1:3-6.(1987.)
		Reprinted in the Orchid Digest 51:63-82.(1987.)
	Braem, G. J.:	History behind the publication of Paphiopedilum henryanum Braem.
		Orchid Digest 52:12.(1988.)
	Darymple, W.:	Raiders of the Lost Orchids
		Independent Magazine, Reprinted in The Orchid Review 98(2):43-48.(1990.)