Paphiopedilum venustum


fma. venustum	fma. measuresianum

Paphiopedilum venustum (Wallich ex Sims) Pfitzer

Described: Wallich ex Sims in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 47, t. 2129 (1820)
Transferred: Pfitzer in Pringsheim, Jahrbcher fur wissenschaftliche Botanik, 19:163 (1888)
Etymology: Derived from the name of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty; named for the beauty of the flower.
Varieties & Forms:
Paphiopedilum venustum fma. measuresianum (hort. ex M.T. Masters in Gardener's Chronicle, 3rd series, 14: 756 (1893)) Braem in Orchidees. Culture et Protection 36: 35 (1998) - albino form
Paphiopedilum venustum fma. pardinum (Reichenbach fil. in Gardener's Chronicle, 1st series, 29: 554 (1869)) Braem in Braem et al., The Genus Paphiopedilum, 2: 274 (1999) - color form
Synonyms: none
Chromosome Count -

2n = metacentrics telocentrics n.f.

40 12 28 52

Leaves: 4-5, 10-25 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, above mottled dark green and grey-green, below purple-spotted, basal margins ciliate
Inflorescence: 1- (rarely 2-) flowered, 10-23 cm long, purple, shortly pubescent
Bloom: 8-9 cm wide, extremely variable
Plant:

fma. venustum

fma. measuresianum

Distribution -
Elevation: 60-1350 m
Peak Flowering in the Wild: January-March
Ecology: grows in a variety of habitats, sometimes in jungle undergrowth or bamboo thickets at the base of cliffs, sometimes in tree crotches
Mean Temperature Range: 15-25°C
Light: light-moderate shade
Medium: leaf litter, humus, mosses

Water (D-drier, M-moderate, W-wetter) - from Cribb (1998): "The habitat of P. venustum lies in some of the wettest places on earth."

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Atwood, J.T. Jr. "The Relationships of the Slipper Orchids (Subfamily Cypripedioideae, Orchidaceae)." Selbyana 7, no. 2/4 (Aug 1984): 129-247.
Braem, Guido J., and Guy Chiron. Paphiopedilum. Saint-Genis Laval, France: Tropicalia, 2003.
Cribb, Phillip J. The Genus Paphiopedilum. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: Natural History Publications in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1998.
"Cypripedium venustum." Botanical Register 10 (1824): Plate 788. <view article>
Gruss, O. "Albino Forms of the Slipper Orchids." Orchid Digest 69, no. 4 (Oct/Dec 2005): 204-29.
Karasawa, K. "Karyomorphological Studies in Paphiopedilum, Orchidaceae." Bulletin of the Hiroshima Botanical Garden 2 (Mar 1979): 1979.
Sims, John. "Cypripedium venustum. Comely Lady's Slipper." Curtis's Botanical Magazine 47 (1820): Tab. 2129. <view article>

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Page Created By: Stephen Manza
Last Updated: 7-14-06
contact: silence882@gmail.com

2n =	metacentrics	telocentrics	n.f.
40	12	28	52