Paph. micranthum

[Mahon]

I just found the pictures of my favorite Paph. micranthum in my collection... this is a single division of a specimen collected in the early 1970's in China (assumed to be in YunNan, China)... the picture of this bloom is from February 2006.

Out of curiosity, has anyone seen one like this? Here are some details: The sepals and petals are white overlayed with pink (instead of green petals and sepals overlayed with pink)... instead of a synsepal, this plant produces flowers with two distinct lateral sepals (which have hair on the edges, which proves the synsepal did not split apart)... the top of the actual staminode is colored pink... the inflorescence is very short (instead of a longer one)... the leaves have all purple undersides (instead of sparsely spotted purple undersides)... compared to my other 15 different Paph. micranthum, this one is about the only different one (besides var. eburneum)... okie, here are some pics... thanks in advance for any help...

Here are some other pictures if interested:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/pamahon/100_0464.jpg (side angle)
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/pamahon/100_0468.jpg (back)
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/pamahon/100_0456.jpg (side view)

-Pat

 

[slippertalker]

Paph micranthum is a very variable species with a wide spectrum of shapes and colors. This one is a bit unusual, but I would not be surprised to see it bloom without the split ventral sepal next time around. There are varieties with the other characteristics of this flower. Usually there are yellow/greenish shades in the sepals and petals, but there are some that are white. Also pouch color can vary incredibly, and the flower color intensity has a large range from richly colored to pale, almost washed out.

This flower has an attractive color combination but poor form and a short stem. A well grown plant might improve both of these conditions. The short stem is the most unusual feature of the plant.
The leaves can also vary in intensity of color from lightly spotted to almost solid purple/red.

 

[cdub]

For some reason I reaaallly like this plant you've grown Pat. Pretty cool looking. I'm diggin the low spike. Take care of that one! A tea-cup micranthum?

 

[Mahon]

Thanks Slippertalker for the info! I did realize this species is quite variable, but did not know about specifics

Cdub... thanks! Does look like a teacup micranthum... =)

-Pat

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Wow! How do you get these guys to bloom in Fla? Are they outdoors all year? Take care, Eric

 

[Mahon]

Eric,

I actually grow a few Paph. micranthum and 3 plants of Paph. malipoense outside in 85F+ temp.... they are all growing in humus, with some media or tropical mosses on top (to make it look nice)... This form is one of the few Paph. micranthum which are growing outside...

-Pat

 

[Gideon]

Very nice Pat

 

[NYEric]

What you said! Maybe it's a new species!oke: I'm suprised by the bloom on such a small plant.