Species library › Paphiopedilum › Paphiopedilum concolor
Orchids Well documented

Paphiopedilum concolor

A small, mottled-leaved slipper orchid (subgenus Brachypetalum) from limestone karst in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. It grows in humus-filled crevices and ledges on limestone, often near the tops of karst hills, and carries one or two cream to pale yellow flowers finely dotted with purple. It needs warm, humid conditions, moderate light and a free-draining, slightly alkaline mix. It resents stale, soggy media.

Paphiopedilum concolor
Photo: Orchi, 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 Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Crevices and ledges of limestone karst, in pockets of leaf litter and humus over rock. Herbarium labels read 'crevices of rock', 'limestone mountain, primary forest' and 'top of limestone mountain, or near top under canopy or open place', so it grows both under a thin canopy and on more open rock faces.

Mostly lowland: wild records with elevations fall between about 225 m and 650 m, and Wikipedia gives most populations below 300 m with a few above 1,000 m.

China (Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi)MyanmarThailandLaosCambodiaVietnam

🔒 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.