Paphiopedilum niveum

According to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew ^[4] :

• Cypripedium niveum Rchb.f. , 1869 basionym
• Cordula nivea (Rchb.f.) Rolfe , 1912
• Cypripedium niveum var. album auct. , 1891
• Paphiopedilum niveum f. album (auct.) O.Gruss , 1999

• Paphiopedilum niveum var. album auct. , 1891

According to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew ^[5], this variation is included in the synonymy of the species, other variations are not registered.

The pure white forms of Paph. niveum have been discovered repeatedly. The first of these is described by Francois Desbois in Lindenia (Vol. 3, p. 365). The white form of Paphiopedilum niveum 'Pratana' received a First Class Certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society and was priced at 3,500 US dollars. The American Orchid Society (AOS) provided several different counterparts from 1978 to 1980. Plants signed as Paph. niveum var. ang-thong f. album (or Paph. × grayi f. album ) was confused with Paph. niveum f. album .

Currently Paph. niveum f. album in culture is much rarer than Paph. × greyi f. album ^[6] .

The species name comes from the Latin word niveus , a , um having the following meanings: snowy, snow-white, snow-white, light, bright ^[7] .
The species does not have an established Russian name, in the Russian-language sources the scientific name Paphiopedilum niveum is usually used.

The Thai name is Rongthao Nari Khao Satul ^[8] .
The English name is The Snow-White Paphiopedilum ^[9] .

Escape the sympodial type.
The stem is almost completely hidden by the bases of 4-6 leaves.
The leaves are oval-elliptic, 8-19 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, dark green with a spotted pattern, with a purple tint on the back.
Single flower stalk , usually 6-25 cm long (rarely higher), carries 1-2 flowers.
The flowers are white with pinkish specks, 5-7 cm in diameter. Plants growing in the wild have more rounded outlines and a smaller flower diameter than modern lines found in culture.
Lip up to 3 cm in length. The column is yellow with white edges, elliptical. The width of staminodynia in Paph. niveum is equal to the width of the base of the lip. On this basis, Paph can be distinguished . niveum from the natural hybrid Paph. × ang-thong ^[10] (= Paph. Godefroyae × Paph. Niveum ), Greek Paphiopedilum Greyi (= Paph. Godefroyae × Paph. Niveum Corning, 1888) and other hybrids in which staminodynia is noticeably narrower ^[6] .

Chromosomes - 2n = 26 ^[11] .

The Malay Peninsula , Thailand , Burma , Kalimantan , is also found on small islands near the island of Langkawi and on the islands of the Tambelan archipelago .
Paphiopedilum niveum grows at heights from 0 to 60 meters above sea level, in cracks of calcareous rocks filled with moss or humus , or on moss-covered tree roots on cliffs oriented north or northwest, where the plant is protected from direct sunlight, but at the same time while time receives a lot of diffused light ^{[9] [12]} .

Average temperatures (day / night) throughout the year are 30–34 ° C / 22–24 ° C ^[12] .

Flowering in Thailand: March-July ^[8] .

The climate according to the weather stations Trang, Thailand ( latitude : 07-31N, longitude : 099-37E, height: 14 meters above sea level) ^[13] . Monthly average minimum / maximum temperatures and precipitation:

• January - 21 \ 32 ° C, 50 mm
• February - 21 \ 33 ° C, 20 mm
• March - 22 \ 35 ° C, 50 mm
• April - 23 \ 35 ° C, 110 mm
• May - 23 \ 33 ° C, 250 mm
• June - 23 \ 32 ° C, 210 mm
• July - 23 \ 32 ° C, 260 mm
• August - 23 \ 32 ° C, 250 mm
• September - 23 \ 32 ° C, 350 mm
• October - 23 \ 32 ° C, 270 mm
• November - 23 \ 31 ° C, 200 mm
• December - 22 \ 31 ° C, 100 mm

It belongs to the number of protected species (I CITES appendix).

The temperature group is warm. But, there is an experience of plant adaptation to night winter temperatures around 16 ° C ^[12] . For successful flowering, a temperature difference of 5-8 ° C is required day / night.
The relative humidity of the air in nature, depending on the season, is 65–85%. In culture, it is possible to keep it at a lower humidity.

There is an opinion that Paphiopedilum niveum is a calcephilum ; therefore, the addition of limestone pebbles to the soil is desirable ^[14] . But some growers do not recommend adding calcium-containing rocks to the substrate ^[12] .

Light: 20000-35000 lux . Plants require moderately bright diffused lighting and protection from direct sunlight.

Watering as the substrate dries, from January to March, watering is reduced. Paphiopedilum niveum is sensitive to excess salts in the substrate. For information on substrates, see: Paphiopedilum .

To initiate flowering, it is necessary to reduce watering to 1 month in the winter. Some lovers from the UK report that Paphiopedilum niveum remains without water from mid-autumn to early spring ^[12] .

It differs from Paphiopedilum × greyi ^[15] with a wider staminodynia , almost equal to the width of the lip. In addition, the stem of Paphiopedilum niveum is higher and slender ^[16] .

Some famous clones :

• Paph. niveum 'Candor' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum 'Candor Cumulus' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum 'Candor Snowbelle' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum 'Catatonk' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum 'Cayuga' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum 'Ruffles' AM / AOS
• Paph. niveum var. album 'Candor' HCC / AOS
• Paph. niveum var. album 'Candor Arctic Pearl' AM / AOS

The species is actively used in hybridization .

• Koopowitz Harold, Comstock James, Woodin Carol. Tropical Slipper Orchids: Paphiopedilum and Phragmipedium Species and Hybrids. Timber Press, 2007. ISBN 0-88192-864-X .
• Pridgeon, AM, Cribb, PJ, Chase, MA & Rasmussen, F. eds .. Genera Orchidacearum vol. 1 - Cypripedioideae. Oxford Univ. Press (2006). ISBN 978-0-19-850513-6 .
• Eng-Soon Teoh. Orchids of Asia. Marshall Cavendish, 2005 ISBN 981-261-015-4 .
• Grote S, 2000, In search of Paphiopedilum callosum and P. niveum . Orchid Rev. 108. (1233): 178-181.
• Rittershausen W, 1994, Paphiopedilum niveum "Ang Thong". Orchid Rev. 102. (1196): 79-80.
• Dey AM, 1985, A la poursuite du Paphiopedilum niveum . Orchidophile 16. (67): 846-852.
• Koelewijn JC, 1983, Paphiopedilum niveum Rchb. Sectie Brachypetalum . vol. 45: Orchideeen center page pullout (2p.)
• Vincent A, 1982, Plantes rares et curieuses. Une bien jolie Thialandaise: le Paphiopedilum niveum . Ami Jard. Maison no.687. 71.
• Koelewijn JC, 1981, Het geslacht Paphiopedilum : 9. Paphiopedilum niveum Rchb. Orchideeen 43. (4): 139-140.
• Fowlie JA, 1973, Malaya revisited: part 3. Paphiopedilum niveum in the Langkawi Islands. Orchid Dig. 37. (6): 230-234.

• Paphiopedilum niveum view essay on the Slipperorchids website
• Paphiopedilum niveum view essay on Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia
• Paphiopedilum niveum (English) : information on the GRIN website. (eng.)
• Paphiopedilum niveum at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. (eng.)