Mrs. godefroy's paphiopedilum

Description

Paphiopedilum godefroyae is a species of orchid endemic to peninsular Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. This species is found just above sea level on limestone cliffs. The flowers are around 9 cm across, creamy white to light green. They flower from December to July. Paphiopedilum, often called the Venus slipper, is a genus of the lady slipper orchid subfamily Cypripedioideae of the flowering plant family Orchidaceae. The genus comprises some 80 accepted taxa including several natural hybrids. The genus is native to Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, New Guinea and the Solomon and Bismarck Islands. The type species of this genus is Paphiopedilum insigne. The species and their hybrids are extensively cultivated, and are known as either paphiopedilums, or by the abbreviation paphs in horticulture. Due to their popularity, Paphiopedilums have been ruthlessly gathered and poached from the wild, making them very rare or extinct there. As soon as a new species or population is discovered, poachers will take the plants for orchid collectors who pay large sums of money. Habitat destruction is an additional factor contributing to their rarity.