Paphiopedilum helenae Aver. 1996 SUBGENUS Paphiopedilum SECTION Paphiopedilum Karasawa & Saito 1982

Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Another Flower

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

P helenae fma delicatum [syn P delicatum]

Photo by Olaf Gruss and Helmut Rohrl

Color Variety

Photo by Jean Claude George

Alba Color Variety

Photo by Claessen Orchids.Com

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Common Name Ellen's Paphiopedilum [Elena Averyanov - Russian wife of Orchid Botanist L. Averyanov current] - In China Qiao Hua Dou Lan

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

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 as a small [smallest of the genus] sized, hot to warm growing lithophytic species with 3 to 5 distichous, coriaceous-fleshy to rigid, succulent, oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, obtuse and tridenticulate apically, green with a few purple spots beneath near the base leaves that blooms in the late summer and fall on an suberect to slightly hanging, 1.6" to 2.8" [4 to 7 cm] long, shortly and densely black-purple, pubescent inflorescence with a single flower arising from a conduplicate, ovate to elliptic, much shorter than the ovary floral bract.

Synonyms Paphiopedilum delicatum Liu & Zhang 2001; Paphiopedilum helenae f. aureum O.Gruss & Roeth 1999; Paphiopedilum helenae var. peschutteri Roete 2010

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 65 No 10 1996 photo fide; The Genus Paphiopedilum Vol 1 & 2 Braem 1999; Oasis Vol 1 No 2 2000 photo; Lindleyana Vol 15 No 4 2000; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 40 pg 2492 - 2564 Brieger 2000 ; A to Z of South East Asian Orchid Species Vol 1 O'Byrne 2001 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 3 2004; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 4 2004 as P delicatum; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 4 2004 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 3 2007 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 72 No 4 2007 photo; Orchids of Vietnam, Illustrated survey, part 1 Averyanov 2008; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 74 #3 2010 drawing/photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 74 #3 2010 as P helenae fma delicatum photo fide; Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide; Orchid Digest Vol 76 #4 2012 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 81 #11 2012 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 78 #4 2014 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 82 #2 2018 Photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 89 #1 2020 photo fide

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