Paphiopedilum violascens Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1911) 2
Type: Schlechter 18182 (B, lost; BO, K, L); 19540 (B, lost); 19785 (B, lost)
Terrestrial, stemless. Rhizome very short; roots thick, flexuose, finely villose. Leaves basal, 4-6, erect-patent, oblong-ligulate, at the apex minutely and unequally tricuspidate, 10-18 cm by 2.3-3.5 cm, glabrous. Inflorescence erect, straight or nearly straight, terete, puberulous, usually more than twice as long as the leaves, 1-flowered. Floral bract erect, ovate, subobtuse, flattened, outside puberulous, with ciliate margins, 3-4 times shorter than the ovary with pedicel. Flower erect. Median sepal erect, broadly ovate, acute or subacuminate, c. 15-nerved, outside minutely puberulous, inside glabrous, with minutely ciliate margins, 3 by 2.2 cm. Synsepal ovate, subobtuse, outside and along the margins minutely puberulous, 3.7 by 1.6 cm. Petals patent, obliquely oblong-ligulate, obtuse, along the upper margin with distant bristle-like hairs, along the lower margin minutely ciliolate, otherwise glabrous, with several nerves, 3.5 by 1.2 cm. Lip almost glabrous outside, inside especially towards the base minutely puberulous, claw distinctly shorter than the slipper, with inflexed lobes, obliquely lanceolate-oblong, subobtuse, auricles erect, obtusely truncate, 0.8 cm high, slipper in front truncate, lip in total c. 3.8 cm long, the slipper near the mouth 2.2 cm diam., with 9 median nerves that are parallel at the base. Staminode subreniform-crescent shaped, above very minutely puberulous, 0.7 cm long, at the apex 1.2 cm wide, lateral lobes falcate-ovate, subobtuse, sinus semicircular with a median apicule. Anthers reniform, obtusely bilobed. Ovary stalked-cylindrical, ribbed, densely puberulous, including the stalk 5-6 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Leaves greyish green, mottled with darker green above. Median sepal white veined with green; synsepal green with darker veins; petals white or greenish white, heavily flushed with purple except at the base; lip green to ochre; staminode green with darker veins (after Cribb, 1998).
Habitat: Terrestrial in lower montane forest, also on open rocky slopes, in leaf litter on limestone, in stunted Dacrydium forest with ground cover of Sphangnum moss, rarely as a low growing epiphyte; 200 to 1
Flowering time in the wild: January, April, May, June, July, August, November.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 521-185M.JPG.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing terrestrial, requires shaded position.