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Species library › Paphiopedilum › Paphiopedilum callosum
Orchids Well documented

Paphiopedilum callosum

Callus slipper orchid

A mottled-leaved slipper orchid of shady evergreen forest in Thailand, Indochina and northern Peninsular Malaysia, growing in deep leaf litter and sometimes on mossy boulders, often along rivulets. It is a warm to intermediate grower that wants even moisture, low to moderate light and high humidity year round, and blooms mainly in spring. It is endangered in the wild; buy nursery-raised plants.

Paphiopedilum callosum
Photo: Dalton Holland Baptista, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

A terrestrial, occasionally lithophytic, orchid in closed evergreen and seasonal forest, rooting in deep leaf litter over granite or sandstone, sometimes on mossy boulders, often near forest streams. It has also been reported from mixed and coniferous woods and cloud forest at the upper end of its range.

Recorded at about 300–1,300 m; one specialist source extends it to 2,000 m. There are no usable wild records with elevations.

ThailandCambodiaLaosVietnamMyanmarNorthern Peninsular Malaysia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.