巧花兜兰 qiao hua dou lan

Paphiopedilum delicatum Z. J. Liu & J. Yong Zhang.

Plants lithophytic. Leaves 2-4, distichous; blade abaxially light green and with purple speckles toward base, adaxially uniformly dark green, linear-oblong to linear-oblanceolate, 8-12.5 cm × 8-16 mm, leathery or leathery-fleshy, acute or unequally bilobate at apex. Scape arching or spreading horizontally, terminating in a solitary flower; peduncle green, purple spotted, 5-7 cm, with black-purple or white hairs; floral bract green, purple spotted, broadly ovate, conduplicate, 10-13 × 7-10 mm, purple hairy toward adaxial base; pedicel and ovary 2.9-3.1 cm, with black-purple or white hairs. Flower 4.5-5 cm in diam.; dorsal sepal yellowish or somewhat golden yellow, whitish margined; synsepal yellowish white; petals pale yellow-green or pale brown-yellow, upper side of midvein usually flushed with pale purple-red; lip pale yellow-green, tinged with purple-red; staminode pale yellow-green with a central green umbo. Dorsal sepal broadly elliptic, 4.2-5 × 2-2.8 cm, abaxially with black-purple hairs toward base, minutely ciliate, slightly undulate at margin, obtuse-rounded at apex; synsepal suborbicular or broadly elliptic, 2.2-2.4 × 2-2.2 cm, abaxially with black-purple hairs toward base, obtuse at apex. Petals linear-spatulate or linear-oblong, 2.5-3.2 × 0.4-0.8 cm, adaxially with black-purple hairs toward base, minutely ciliate along apical margin, obtuse or subtruncate at apex; lip helmet-shaped, 2.5-2.8 cm; pouch 1.5-1.8 cm in diam., usually convex-inflated on front surface. Staminode broadly obovate to obovate-orbicular, 6-7 × 6-7 mm, adaxially with small bubble-shaped papillae and a central umbo. Fl. Sep-Nov.

Crevices of bushy cliffs; 700-1100 m. SW Guangxi (Napo) [N Vietnam].