Sign in Start free
Species library › Paphiopedilum › Paphiopedilum purpuratum
Orchids Well documented

Paphiopedilum purpuratum

A mottled-leaved slipper orchid from southern China, including Hong Kong, where it was discovered on Hong Kong Island in 1850, and from Hainan and northern Vietnam. It grows in humus among rocks and moss in shaded stream valleys below about 700 m. It is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 250 mature plants estimated in the wild, and is on CITES Appendix I, so grow only legally propagated plants.

Paphiopedilum purpuratum
Photo: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

It grows as a terrestrial or semi-lithophyte in humus-rich pockets among stones, moss and gravel in forested stream valleys, and on rocky ground. It sits under the forest canopy in deep, humid shade.

Below about 700 m, in lowland and foothill forest.

China South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanVietnam

🔒 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

Grow Paphiopedilum purpuratum? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Paphiopedilum

Paphiopedilum insigne Paphiopedilum boxallii Paphiopedilum rothschildianum Paphiopedilum spicerianum Paphiopedilum bellatulum Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum Paphiopedilum micranthum Paphiopedilum delenatii Paphiopedilum philippinense Paphiopedilum stonei Paphiopedilum villosum Paphiopedilum primulinum All 156 →

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.