Paphiopedilum delenatii Guillaumin
- Described: Guillaumin in Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France, 71: 554, 558 (1924); and in Journal de la Societe Nationale d'Horticulture de France, 4th series, 26: 127 (1924)
- History: Up until recently, this species was reported as having been discovered in 1913-14 by a French military officer in Tonkin, North Vietnam. The officer sent the plant, "on to Mr. Delenat, at that time in charge of the gardens at the Palace of St. Germain-en-Layes near St. Cloud." (Summerhayes 1950) I have seen no specific record of what happened to this plant, but I assume from the literature that it quickly died and may never have even flowered in cultivation. This plant was probably not Paph. delenatii, which we now know is endemic to southern Vietnam. Instead, this plant was probably Paph. vietnamense, a closely related species which was recently discovered in northern Vietnam.
Paph. delenatii was actually discovered in 1922 in southern Vietnam by Poilane, a French collector. Poilane sent the plants back to France, which were first, "exhibited in 1924 and 1925 by M. Mornay, head of the municipal gardens at Paris, at meetings of the National Horticultural Society of France, and were later the basis of Guillaumin's description of the new species." (Summerhayes 1950) These plants proved difficult to cultivate and all but one died. However, the single surviving plant was selfed by Maurice and Marcel Lecoufle and became the origin of every Paph. delenatii in cultivation until the early 1990s. (Cribb 1987)
Paph. delenatii was rediscovered in 1990 near Nha Trang in southern Vietnam. Plants were soon illegally collected in large numbers and found their way into the international market, particularly through Hong Kong and Taiwan. Averyanov et al. (1996) estimated that six tons of Paph. delenatii were collected and exported.
- Etymology: Named for the then director of the Botanical Gardens of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France, Mr. Delenat
- Synonyms: none
- Varieties & Forms:
Paphiopedilum delenatii fma. albinum Braem, in Braem et al., The Genus Paphiopedilum, 1: 73 (1998) - albino form
Paphiopedilum delenatii fma. dunkel hort. - darkly colored form, not officially described
- Chromosome Count -
| 2n = |
metacentrics |
telocentrics |
n.f. |
| 26 |
26 |
0 |
52 |
Plant Habit
- Leaves: 5-7, up to 11 cm long, 4 cm wide, above mottled dark and pale green, below purple-spotted
- Inflorescence: 1- (occasionally 2-) flowered, up to 22 cm long, green, purple-spotted, white-hirsute
- Bloom: 7-10 cm natural spread
- Plant:
fma. delenatii
fma. albinum
fma. dunkel
Habitat Data
- Distribution:
- Elevation: 750-1300 m
- Peak Flowering in the Wild: December
- Ecology: evergreen forests on granite and gneiss bluffs along montane river canyons
- Mean Temperature Range: 19-25° C
- Light: moderate shade
- Medium: thin sandy soil with very little humus or leaf liter
- Water (D-drier, M-moderate, W-wetter):
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Water |
M |
D |
D |
D |
M |
M |
M |
M |
W |
W |
W |
W |
Sources:
- Averyanov, L.V. et al. "Endangered Vietnamese Paphiopedilums, Part 2. Paphiopedilum delenatii." Orchids 65, no. 12 (Dec 1996): 1302-08.
- 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, P. Two new Chinese Slipper Orchids in The Genus Paphiopedilum. Orchid Review 95 (1122):160-161, May; 1987.
- Cribb, Phillip J. The Genus Paphiopedilum. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: Natural History Publications in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1998.
- Karasawa, K. "Karyomorphological Studies in Paphiopedilum, Orchidaceae." Bulletin of the Hiroshima Botanical Garden 2 (Mar 1979): 1979.
- Summerhayes, V.S. "Paphiopedilum delenatii." Curtis's Botanical Magazine 167 (1950): Tab. 89. <view article>
Primary Hybrids
| Paph. delenatii x |
Hybrid |
| armeniacum |
Armeni White |
| emersonii |
Joyce Hasegawa |
| hangianum |
In-Charm Handel |
| jackii |
Wössner Pinkjack |
| malipoense |
Lynleigh Koopowitz |
| micranthum |
Magic Lantern |
| vietnamense |
Ho Chi Minh |
| bellatulum |
Vanda M. Pearman |
| concolor |
Pisar |
| godefroyae |
Catherine Briois |
| niveum |
Deception II |
| wenshanense |
Amagiri |
| charlesworthii |
Bayeux |
| fairrieanum |
Black Diamond |
| henryanum |
Doll Mouse |
| acmodontum |
Beauty Delight |
| argus |
Geneviève Bert |
| callosum |
Madame Martinet |
| ciliolare |
Kay Zed Seven |
| curtisii |
Thracios |
| hennisianum |
Plastic Fantastic |
| hookerae |
Margherita Burnett |
| lawrenceanum |
Pourpoint |
| purpuratum |
Neil's Diamond |
| sukhakulii |
Quasimodo |
| tonsum |
Dorothy Newman |
| violascens |
Hugues Capet |
| wardii |
Tim VanRooy |
| adductum |
Deladu |
| glanduliferum |
Neerach |
| haynaldianum |
Harumi |
| kolopakingii |
Doctor Toot |
| lowii |
Neeri-Dello |
| philippinense |
Delphi |
| platyphyllum |
Stella Lim |
| rothschildianum |
Delrosi |
| sanderianum |
Sacagawea's Slippers |
| stonei |
Marilyn Hanson |
| wilhelminiae |
Lyro Valentine |
| chamberlainianum |
Dellaina |
| glaucophyllum |
Delophyllum |
| liemianum |
Annabellchen |
| primulinum |
Deperle |
| victoria-mariae |
Grassauer Abendrot |
| victoria-reginae |
Grassau |
Return to the Data Sheets Page
Page Created By: Stephen Manza
Last Updated: 12-2-06
contact: silence882@gmail.com
1.jpg)
albinum(crown)1.jpg)
dunkel(crown)1.jpg)
dunkel(topview)1.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}