Paphiopedilum helenae

Paphiopedilum helenae Averyanov

Described: Averyanov in Botanical Journal (St. Petersburg, Russia), 81(9): 108 (1996) - discovered in 1995 by L. Averyanov, N.T. Hiep, and D.D. Huyen in northern Vietnam
Etymology: Named for Mrs. Helen Averyanova, wife of Leonid Averyanov, who led the team that discovered it.
Varieties & Forms:
Paphiopedilum helenae fma. aureum Gruss & Roeth in Die Orchidee 50: 2-3 (1999) - albino form
Synonyms:
Paphiopedilum delicatum Z.J. Liu & J.Y. Zang in Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica, 39(1): 78 (2001)
Chromosome Count - unknown

Leaves: 3-5, 3-12 cm long, .5-2 cm wide, above green with pale white to yellow margins, below purple-marked near the base
Inflorescence: 1-flowered, 4-7 cm long, shortly-densely black-purple pubescent
Bloom: 3-6 cm wide
Plant: clustered growths

Distribution -
Elevation: 500-1000 m
Peak Flowering in the Wild: September-November
Ecology: open, dry, mossy forests on ledges and cliffs near the tops of highly eroded limestone mountains and ridges
Mean Temperature Range: 10-25°C
Light: light shade
Medium: calcareous, roots clinging to the rock, sometimes exposed, leaf and grass debris

Water (D-drier, M-moderate, W-wetter) - conditions severe, extremely high humidity during the rainy season

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From Averyanov et al, 2003: "According to our estimate, in a very short time, 15,000-20,000 growths of P. helenae were collected. Most of these plants were immediately exported from the country and appeared on the international market shortly afterwards. It is likely that this illegal importation into Germany provided the basis for the description of P. helenae forma aureum O.Gruss & J.Roeth in Die Orcidee 50 (1): 3 (1999)."
From Averyanov et al, 2003: "Natural hybridization of P. helenae with sympatric slipper orchid species needs further field investigation. Not uncommonly, for example, where populations of P. helenae and P. hirsutissimum grow together plants can be found that may represent their natural hybrid. The plant described as P. herrmannii may be one of these. Some unusal wild-collected plants with transitional morphological features between P. helenae and P. x herrmannii, that appear from time to time on sale, may have arisen from the hybridization of these taxa."

Averyanov, L. et al. Slipper Orchids of Vietnam. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2003.
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.
Gruss, O. "Albino Forms of the Slipper Orchids." Orchid Digest 69, no. 4 (Oct/Dec 2005): 204-29.

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Page Created By: Stephen Manza
Last Updated: 8-2-06
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