Paphiopedilum druryi

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Paphiopedilum druryi
Paphiopedilum druryi Orchi 4-2011a.jpg
Flower of Paphiopedilum druryi
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Cypripedioideae
Genus: Paphiopedilum
Species:
P. druryi
Binomial name
Paphiopedilum druryi
Synonyms

Paphiopedilum druryi is a species of orchid endemic to the Agastyamalai Hills of southern India. It is the only southern Indian orchid species in the genus. Rediscovered in 1972 after its original description in 1870, wild populations were decimated by commercial collectors and it is one of the few plants that are listed as threatened by the Indian government and included in CITES [1] and the IUCN Redlist. [2]

Illustration of a flowering plant Paph druryi.jpg
Illustration of a flowering plant

The species was described by Colonel Richard Henry Beddome in 1870 and named after the collector of the first specimens, Colonel Heber Drury (1819-1905), an amateur botanist who worked in Travancore. The species was found in the valleys of the Cardamom Hills and flowers in May and June. The leaves are long and stout. The scape is 7 to 9 inches long and erect and hairy bearing a single flower. The dorsal sepal is broad, pointed and bent forward and greenish to yellow in colour with a purple medial stripe. The outside is hairy. The broad petals also have a dark medial stripe and dark spots towards the base and the flower bends slightly downwards. The lip is pale yellow and channeled at the base. [3] [4] It was introduced into Europe and many hybrids were developed by horticulturists. Harry Veitch produced a hybrid with Cypripedium niveum . [5] Another hybrid buchanianum is a cross between spicerianum and druryi [6] and numerous others hybrids been in trade making the wild type difficult to identify in cultivation.

After the species was described in the 1870s and taken into cultivation in Europe, the species was not seen in the wild until 1972. Almost immediately the new colony of plants that was discovered, with as many of 3000 plants, was wiped out by commercial collectors. Just three plants were found and safeguarded. [7] [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Paphiopedilum</i> Genus of orchids

Paphiopedilum, often called the Venus slipper, is a genus of the lady slipper orchid subfamily Cypripedioideae of the flowering plant family Orchidaceae. The genus comprises some 80 accepted taxa including several natural hybrids. The genus is native to Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, New Guinea and the Solomon and Bismarck Islands.

<i>Phragmipedium</i>

Phragmipedium is a genus of the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) and the only genus comprised in the tribe Phragmipedieae and subtribe Phragmipediinae. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek phragma, which means "division", and pedium, which means "slipper". It is abbreviated 'Phrag' in trade journals.

Colonel Richard Henry Beddome was a British military officer and naturalist in India, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several remote and then-unexplored hill ranges in Sri Lanka and south India, including those in the Eastern Ghats such as Yelandur, Kollegal, Shevaroy Hills, Yelagiri, Nallamala Hills, Visakhapatnam hills, and the Western Ghats such as Nilgiri hills, Anaimalai hills, Agasthyamalai Hills and Kudremukh. He described many species of plants, amphibians, and reptiles from southern India and Sri Lanka, and several species from this region described by others bear his name.

<i>Melanophidium bilineatum</i> Species of snake

Melanophidium bilineatum, commonly known as the two-lined black shieldtail or iridescent shieldtail, is a species of snake endemic to India. This species was known from only three specimens and very little information is available of it in the wild.

<i>Paphiopedilum armeniacum</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum armeniacum is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is known commonly as the apricot orange paphiopedilum and golden slipper orchid. It is endemic to China, where it occurs only in Yunnan. It is also cultivated and has won prestigious awards at flower shows.

<i>Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum, common name The Shiny Green Leaf Paphiopedilum or Tropical Lady's-Slipper, is a species of flowering plants in the genus Paphiopedilum of the family Orchidaceae.

<i>Paphiopedilum barbigerum</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum barbigerum is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae known commonly as the beard carrying paphiopedilum. It is native to China, Vietnam, and Thailand. It is an endangered species due to habitat destruction and overcollection for the horticultural trade.

<i>Paphiopedilum dianthum</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum dianthum is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to China, Laos, and Vietnam. It is known commonly as the double flowered paphiopedilum.

<i>Paphiopedilum fowliei</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum fowliei is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Coelia bella</i> Species of orchid

Coelia bella is a species of orchid native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and Costa Rica. It produces trumpet-shaped flowers that are intensely fragrant, with a smell like marzipan. It flowers during the autumn.

<i>Paphiopedilum sanderianum</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum sanderianum is a rare species of orchid endemic to northwestern Borneo. First discovered in 1885 by F. Sander's collector, J. Foerstermann, the orchid became renowned for the remarkable length of its petals, which can measure over 1 meter long. Although P. sanderianum has been used as a parent in a number of crosses, none of the resulting hybrids have so far matched the extraordinary lengths of this species' petals. However, soon after the turn of the 20th century, this rare orchid was lost to cultivation and thought to be extinct in the wild, until its rediscovery in 1978 by Ivan Nielson. The wild population of Paph sanderianum grows protected in Gunung Mulu National Park.

<i>Paphiopedilum sukhakulii</i> Species of orchid

Paphiopedilum sukhakulii is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae.

<i>Phalaenopsis philippinensis</i>

Phalaenopsis philippinensis is an endemic species of orchid found from Luzon island in the Philippines.

<i>Thelymitra villosa</i>

Thelymitra villosa, commonly called the custard orchid is a species of orchid which is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to twenty yellow flowers with reddish-brown markings.

<i>Caladenia caesarea <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> caesarea</i>

Caladenia caesarea subsp. caesarea, commonly known as the mustard spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single spreading, hairy leaf and up to three mustard-coloured flowers with red stripes. It was originally described as a subspecies of Caladenia filamentosa but the rich colour of its flowers and prominent labellum separate it from that species.

<i>Caladenia dimorpha</i>

Caladenia dimorpha, commonly known as spicy caps, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an uncommon ground orchid with a single sparsely hairy leaf, and up to three white flowers which often have pinkish markings.

<i>Petrophile semifurcata</i> Species of shrub endemic to Western Australia

Petrophile semifurcata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to an area near the west coast of Western Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with sharply-pointed, needle-shaped, sometimes lobed leaves and oval heads of silky-hairy, whitish, lemon-yellow or cream-coloured flowers.

Heber Drury

Colonel Heber Drury was a British army officer who worked in India and contributed to botany in his spare time. He published two books and several articles on botany and is commemorated in the name of the only peninsular Indian species of slipper orchid in the genus Paphiopedilum, P. druryi, which he collected in the hills of Agastyamalai.

Caladenia lateritica, also known as white primrose orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to relatively inaccessible, high lateritic plateaux in a high rainfall area in south-western Western Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two white flowers on a thin, sparsely-hairy stem. It is similar to Caladenia flava but is distinguished by its fragrant white versus yellow flowers with prominent red stripes and spots on the dorsal sepal and lateral petals. Caladenia lateritica mimics Conostylis setosa (Haemodoraceae) in terms of flowering time, height, colour and fragrance. It also shares a native bee pollinator with Conostylis setosa, which provides pollen and nectar whereas the orchid is rewardless.

<i>Caladenia rosea</i>

Caladenia rosea, also known as pink primrose orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to relatively inaccessible, high lateritic plateaux in a high rainfall area in south-western Western Australia. It is a terrestrial orchid with a single hairy leaf and up to three pink flowers on a thin, sparsely-hairy stem. It is similar to Caladenia flava but is distinguished by the perianth being pink to dark pink with prominent red striping and spotting on the dorsal sepal and lateral petals. Caladenia rosea mimics Hypocalymma robustum (Myrtaceae) in terms of flowering time, colour and scent.

References

  1. CITES amendment to Appendix I. (PDF).
  2. Rankou, H.; Kumar, P. (2015). "Paphiopedilum druryi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T15051138A15054919. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T15051138A15054919.en.
  3. Hooker, J.D. (1894). The Flora of British India. Volume 7. Orchideae to Cyperaceae. London: L.Reeve and Co. p.  173.
  4. Cox, J.M. (1946). A cultural table of orchidaceous plants. Sydney: Shepherd Press. pp.  100-101.
  5. "New Garden Plants". The Gardeners' Chronicle. 17: 76–77. 1882.
  6. Williams, B.S.; Williams, H. (1961). The Orchid-Grower's Manual (7 ed.). Wheldon and Wesley. p.  236.
  7. Jenkins, Martin; Oldfield, Sara (1992). Plants in Trade. Cambridge: Traffic Internation. p.  12.
  8. Ornamental Horticulture in India. New Delhi: ICAR. 1986. p.  12.
  9. Conservation Assessment and Management Plan Workshop Report for Endemic Orchids of the Western Ghats (PDF). 2001.