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Species library › Paphiopedilum › Paphiopedilum superbiens
Orchids Well documented

Paphiopedilum superbiens

A mottled-leaved slipper orchid of section Barbata, endemic to northern and western Sumatra, which includes the plants long grown as Paphiopedilum curtisii. It grows terrestrially in leaf litter and on rock ledges at 900-1,300 m and carries a single large flower with a spotted, drooping petal pair on a tall stem in spring and summer. Grow it like other mottled-leaf Paphiopedilum: shaded, evenly moist, intermediate, with no dry rest.

Paphiopedilum superbiens
Photo: Dalton Holland Baptista, 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
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Leaf litter in forest (described as coniferous forest) and humus on rock ledges in the Sumatran mountains, in shade on the forest floor.

900-1,300 m according to the Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia; GBIF specimens carry no elevations.

Sumatra

🔒 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.