Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum (Lindl.) Pfitz.
When we see flowers of the lady slippers from South-East Asia, many of them are difficult to tell apart: Is it Paph. insigne or barbigerum? Is it Paph. chamberlainianum or victoria mariae? With Paph. hirsutissimum, we don’t have this problem – the plants are readily recognised by their rather hairy flowers, ovaries and peduncles. In addition, there are blunt, paddle shaped petals with curly upper margins and the colours go from overall golden brown to glowing magenta petal tips. Total plant height does not exceed 35 cm and the leaves are solid green.
 Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum |
The first representatives of this species were collected and sent to England by Mr. Simon in 1857. Sir William Hooker described them in a botanical paper. You see, unless a new plant species has been properly described and published, in LATIN for the scientists, it does not officially exist; this ruling was established January 1st, 1935. The epithet “hirsutissimum” was coined by John Lindley, because of the noticeable hairiness of the flower parts. So now, thanks to Mr. Simon, Sir W. Hooker and J. Lindley, this “Most Hairy Lady Slipper” really exists. Of course now, 160 years later, there have been other “hairy” slipper orchids discovered. There is, for instance Paph. sangii, which is also quite hirsute.
The original plants were collected in North East India where they grow in leaf litter under shady trees on the ground or between cracks in limestone cliffs. The winters (close to the Himalayas) can be rather cool (10°C) and the summers can be quite hot (40°C). In captivity, they enjoy regular misting and fairly heavy watering during the warm season. Blooming time is from spring to fall; flowers should form on 3-year old growths. In the wild, undisturbed plants can have up to 20 mature growths, which should look impressive when they all bloom at once!
There is a very similar variety of the Indian plant, described in 1982 by Mr. Esquirol and recognized now as Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum variety esquirolei. It comes from a large area including Southern China, Vietnam and North Eastern Thailand. It likes temperatures a little warmer than its Western cousins, its colours can be a little paler, the hairs are somewhat shorter and in overall size is a little smaller – we might call it the “Smaller Hairy One”. Its culture is the same as for the original species.
Over the years, other, similar plants have been found. The variety name chiwuanum is now not valid anymore; they were immature specimens. An alba form exists which lacks any red pigmentation in the flowers. There is also a peloric kind of this species, the Paph. hirsutissimum var. esquirolei forma saccopetalum, found in 1998 in China. Dr. P. Cribb calls it a teratological form, meaning that the pouch and the petals look very similar, something which had been discussed by Mr. Masters as early as 1894. If you can grow the Paphiopedilums from S.E. Asia and want to have impressive looking flowers, try to get a Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum or one of its varieties and be proud when you see it bloom.
Ingrid Schmidt-Ostrander - Canadian Orchid Congress