Venus slipper from Assam with a white, purple-streaked dorsal sepal and a greenish-brown slipper

Paphiopedilum spicerianum is a lady's slipper orchid long considered endemic to Assam in India, but which likely has a wider, albeit sparse, distribution between Bhutan and northwestern Myanmar. It has also been reported from the eastern Himalayas and Yunnan province in China. There, it grows terrestrially or sometimes lithophytically on steep, rocky slopes and in rock crevices, at altitudes between 300 and 2000 meters.

The plant forms clumps of green, narrow, and oval leaves that grow to be about 30 centimeters long and up to 6 centimeters wide. From the center of the leaf rosette grows an upright flower stalk of 20 to 30 centimeters, bearing a single flower.

The flower has a rounded overall shape despite being clearly divided into its parts. The dorsal sepal is white with a dark purple stripe through the center. The petals are short, pale green with wavy edges, and the lip, the slipper-like pouch, is greenish-brown.

The pouch acts as a trap for insects: the only way out leads past the pollen masses, which ensures the insect pollinates the flower on its way out.

Care

Thrives in partial shade to bright, indirect light, without direct sun. The species lacks pseudobulbs and cannot store water, so the substrate should be kept evenly slightly moist and never dry out completely.

Use a finer orchid substrate with bark, perlite, and preferably some sphagnum moss. It tolerates both warmer and cooler conditions but appreciates a distinct nighttime temperature drop. Ideal temperature is 16-26 degrees Celsius. Fertilize weakly but regularly during the growing season with diluted orchid fertilizer.