About
The egg-in-a-nest orchid, a slipper orchid of Myanmar, northern Thailand and southern China, admired for its rounded, heavily spotted flowers.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Light
- Shade-loving: roughly 1,000–2,000 foot-candles, such as an east or west window or a shaded south window. General guidance for the genus
- Water
- Keep the mix evenly moist but never soggy; do not leave the pot standing in water. General guidance for the genus
- Humidity
- Moderate, about 40–50%; a tray of damp gravel helps, with steady air movement. General guidance for the genus
- Temperature
- Nights about 13–22 °C (55–72 °F), days 21–29 °C (70–85 °F); mottled-leaf and multi-flowered types prefer the warmer end, plain green-leaved types the cooler end. General guidance for the genus
- Soil
- Fine to medium fir bark with perlite, sand or sphagnum; limestone-dwelling species appreciate added limestone chips or oyster shell. General guidance for the genus
- Pot
- Repot about every two years, or sooner if the mix breaks down. General guidance for the genus
- Propagation
- Divide established clumps into groups of three to five growths; single growths may take time to flower. General guidance for the genus
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
Four or five leaves up to 14 cm long, dark green with white spots above and purple beneath. A very short stalk, 2–4.5 cm, holds a single round flower 5–8 cm wide close to the leaves. Flowers May–June; an albino form exists.
Distribution & habitat
Mainly eastern Myanmar, extending into southern China and northern Thailand, on shaded limestone cliffs at 900–1,500 m.
History & etymology
Described by Reichenbach in 1888 as Cypripedium bellatulum from a plant collected by Inle Lake in Burma. The name comes from Latin bellus, beautiful.
Conservation
Treated as endangered since 2013, mainly through collecting and development; seed cryopreservation and lab propagation have been used to conserve it.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Myanmar, Thailand, China
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
- Temperature
- Nights about 13–22 °C (55–72 °F), days 21–29 °C (70–85 °F); mottled-leaf and multi-flowered types prefer the warmer end, plain green-leaved types the cooler end.
- Humidity
- Moderate, about 40–50%; a tray of damp gravel helps, with steady air movement.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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