Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium. They are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower. There are approximately 165 species in the subfamily.
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. The type species of this genus is Paphiopedilum insigne.
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.
Paphiopedilum malipoense is a species of orchid commonly known as the jade slipper orchid. This hemicryptophyte plant starts blooming in the spring time and has one flower per inflorescence. The plant grows in intermediate to cool conditions. Its flowers have a raspberry fragrance.
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.
Paphiopedilum micranthum, described in 1951, is commonly known as the silver slipper orchid or hard-leaved pocket orchid. It blooms during late winter to early summer with one flower per inflorescence. As opposed to its close sibling Paph. malipoense, the flowers of Paph. micranthum have no fragrance.
Paphiopedilum delenatii, described in 1924, is named after Delanat, a French orchid enthusiast of the 1900s. It was first discovered in 1913 when it was brought to France by returning soldiers, and was believed to be extinct and was not rediscovered in the wild until 1993. In the wild, blooming is in December, but in cultivation the plants generally bloom later, from January to March. The flowers are fragrant.
Paphiopedilum rothschildianum, it is commonly known as the Gold of Kinabalu orchid or Rothschild's slipper orchid, is a large sized clear-leafed species of orchid. It blooms with a tall inflorescence with up to six, large flowers. It is unique in the Corypetalum group by holding its petals almost horizontally, giving the flower a very distinctive appearance. The peak flowering period is from April to May.
Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum, common name shiny green leaf paphiopedilum or tropical lady's-slipper, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Paphiopedilum of the family Orchidaceae.
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.
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.
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.
Paphiopedilum concolor is a small terrestrial orchid first described in 1865 as Cypripedium concolor. It has dark green and grey-green mottled leaves, up to 150 by 40 mm. Paphiopedilum concolor is native to southern China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Southern and Central Vietnam, usually in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Quảng Bình Province. They are generally found in lowlands, below 300 m (1,000 ft) elevation, but have been found above 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
Paphiopedilum bellatulum, commonly known as the egg-in-a-nest orchid, is a species of orchid found from southeastern Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Guangxi of China to Indochina. It is also found in Myanmar and Thailand at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,800 meters. The leaves are a dark green with white spots on top, but the underside is purple. The flower is round, about 6–8 cm in diameter.
Paphiopedilum godefroyae is a species of orchid endemic to peninsular Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. This species is found just above sea level on limestone cliffs. The flowers are around 9 cm across, creamy white to light green. They flower from December to July.
Paphiopedilum insigne is an Asian species of slipper orchid and the type species of the genus Paphiopedilum. Its name is derived from the Latin insigne, meaning 'badge of honor' due to the magnificent flower. In the 19th century it was very popular among European and American orchid growers, causing it to become very rare in the wild due to over collecting. There are many varieties of it and hybrids with it.
Paphiopedilum niveum is a species of orchid occurring from peninsular Thailand to peninsular Malaysia. It is best known on Pulau Langkawi, a group of islands off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Over-collecting from these islands has made the species quite scarce. This orchid grows in cracks on limestone cliffs just above sea level. It is small, only 10 cm across, with flowers that are 5–6 cm across. It flowers from December to August, peaking in April and May. This orchid, and the Thai variety, Paph. niveum var. Ang Thong, have been hybridised extensively, and are easy to grow.
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 Paphiopedilum sanderianum grows protected in Gunung Mulu National Park.
Paphiopedilum sukhakulii is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae.
