Orchids of New Guinea

Next Genus: Genus Paphiopedilum section Barbata

Genus Paphiopedilum

Paphiopedilum Pfitzer, Morph. Stud. Orchideenbl. (1886) 11; in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenfam. II, 6 (1889) 82; & in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV, 50, Orch. Pleonandr. (1903) 54. Type species: Paphiopedilum insigne (Wall. ex Lindl.) Pfitzer.

Synonyms:

Genus Cordula Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4 (1836) 46, nom. rej. Type species. Cordula insignis (Wall. ex Lindl.) Raf.
Genus Menephora Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4 (1836) 46
Genus Stimegas Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4 (1836) 45, nom. rej. Type species. Stimegas venustus (Wall. ex Sims) Raf.

Sympodial terrestrials or sometimes epiphytic plants without or with distinct rhizomes. Roots elongate, with root hairs, unbranched. Rhizome short to elongate. Stem very short, erect, tufted or sometimes wide apart. Leaves few, arranged in two rows, glabrous, persistent, duplicate, often mottled, leathery; leaf sheath present, lowest 2 to 4 without leaf blade. Inflorescence a terminal, 1-to many-flowered raceme; rachis glabrous or with indument; bracts conduplicate. Flowers large to very large, resupinate, sometimes opening in succession, showy. Pedicel hardly developed to short; ovary 1-licular, 3-ribbed, glabrous or with indument. Median sepal erect or bent as a hood over the lip; outside glabrous or with indument, inside sometimes with indument at the base; margin glabrous or ciliate. Lateral sepals often connate in a concave synsepalum resembling the median sepal; outside glabrous or with indument, inside sometimes with indument at the base; margin glabrous or ciliate; outside sometimes keeled. Petals free, usually very different from the sepals, flat, reflexed or twisted; outside glabrous or with indument, inside sometimes with indument at the base; margin glabrous or ciliate. Lip without spur, not mobile, slipper-shaped or urn-shaped with a deep and inflated pouch, with or without more or less pronounced, incurved, sometimes warty lateral lobes. Column curved downwards into the opening of the lip, short, stalked, porrect; stamens 2, lateral on the column; filaments short, obtuse to acute; anthers 2-locular; pollen powdery or viscid, sticky; staminode terminal on the column, sessile or short stalked, often shield-like, rarely reduced or absent, transversely reniform, oblong, ovate, obcordate or linear, flat, convex or longitudinally conduplicate, the apex entire, bifid or tripartite, glabrous to papillose or finely pubescent, the margin ciliate or not; stigma stalked or subsessile, dependent, 3-partite, more or less papillose.

Distribution:

India, tropical East Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands. About 70 species; in New Guinea 4 species.

Habitat:

Terrestrial in lowland and montane forest, often on steep limestone cliffs. Also epiphytic on tall trees in hill forest.

References:

Braem, G.J., C.O. Baker, and M.L. Baker. 1998. The genus Paphiopedilum: natural history and cultivation. Part 1. Kissimmee, Florida: Botanical Publishers.
Braem, G.J., C.O. Baker, and M.L. Baker. 1999. The genus Paphiopedilum: natural history and cultivation. Part 2. Kissimmee, Florida: Botanical Publishers.
Cribb, P.J. 1987. The genus Paphiopedilum. Collingridge Books, Kew, and Timberpress, Portland.
Cribb, P.J. 1998. The genus Paphiopedilum. Second edition. Kota Kinabalu: Natural History Publications (Borneo).
Pridgeon, A. M., P.J. Cribb, M.W. Chase & F.N. Rasmussen (Eds.). 1999. Genera Orchidacearum, Volume 1: General introduction, Apostasioideae, Cypripedioidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Classification:

Subfamily Cypripedioideae
Genus Paphiopedilum

Notes:

The genus Paphiopedilum is not very diverse in New Guinea, with only four species belonging to two sections. Section Barbata, with 1-flowered inflorescences, relatively short and broad petals and marbled leaves, is represented by Paphiopedilum papuanum and Paphiopedilum violascens; section Coryopedilum, with multi-flowered inflorescences, long, narrow petals and unmarked leaves, is represented by Paphiopedilum glanduliferum and Paphiopedilum wilhelminae. The name of the last-mentioned species is consistently misspelled as Paphiopedilum wilhelminiae. Within each of the two sections the species are very closely related and variable, as a result there is still some controversy about the number of taxa and the taxonomic rank of the taxa occurring in New Guinea.
Members of this genus are popularly known as slipper orchids. They are highly sought after by collectors and even in New Guinea they are not safe from overcollecting, especially as populations tend to be small and far apart. Fortunately they are relatively easy to grow and long-lived, so their existence in cultivation seems safe.

Genus Paphiopedilum is subdivided in 3 subgenera, in New Guinea 1 subgenus, with 2 sections:

Subgenus Paphiopedilum
Section Paphiopedilum
Section Barbata

Genus Paphiopedilum Subgenus Paphiopedilum Section Paphiopedilum in New Guinea is present with 2 species:

Paphiopedilum glanduliferum
Paphiopedilum wilhelminae

Genus Paphiopedilum Subgenus Paphiopedilum Section Barbatum in New Guinea is present with 2 species:

Paphiopedilum papuanum
Paphiopedilum violascens