Paphiopedilum helenae Aver. 1996 SUBGENUS Paphiopedilum SECTION Paphiopedilum Karasawa & Saito 1982 Photos courtesy of © Lourens Grobler

Another Flower Photo by Olaf Gruss, courtesy of Rod Rice and Oasis the Journal

Color Variety Photo courtesy of Jean Claude George

to LATE and

Common Name Ellen's Paphiopedilum [Ellen Wilson, American Orchid Enthusiast]

Flower Size 2 to 2 1/2" [5 to 6 cm]

A small [smallest of the genus] lithophytic species found recently in north Vietnam and southern China in primary, mixed and coniferous, semi-deciduous, open broadleafed dry forest on steep highly eroded limestone cliff faces facing north at elevations of 100 to 900 meters with 3 to 5 distichous, coriaceous-fleshy to rigid, succulent, oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, obtuse and tridenticulate apically, green leaves with a few purple spots beneath near the base that has an suberect or slightly hanging, 1 3/5" to 2 3/4" [4 to 7 cm] long, shortly and densely black-purple pubescent inflorescence with a single flower arising from a conduplicate, ovate to elliptic bract that occurs in the late summer and fall.

Synonyms Paphiopedilum delicatum Liu & Zhang 2001; Paphiopedilum helenae f. aureum O.Gruss & Roeth 1999

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 65 No 10 1996 photo; The Genus Paphiopedilum Vol 1 & 2 Braem 1999; Lindleyana Vol 15 No 4 2000; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 3 2004; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 4 2004 photo as P delicatum; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 4 2004 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 3 2007 photo; Orchids of Vietnam, Illustrated survey, part 1 Averyanov 2008

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------