Paphiopedilum NoID

[MNBloom]

Our first bloomer here in the greenhouse of the Paph collection here on campus and it's a beauty. No luck searching so far identifying it. A couple that are similar but not with the beautiful spotted spray the upper petal has. Thank you in advance! Julie

[MrHappyRotter]

That's a fairly complex looking hybrid, I could be wrong, since I have absolutely no clue on the ID.

The dark stripes are definitely from Paph. druyii, no doubt it's in the background. Overall shape and color suggests it's got Paph. villosum or similar/related species in it. The spottiness on the petals, and undulation are probably from a shot of Paph. hirsutissimum or Paph. esquirolei.

[Fairorchids]

There is druryi, villosum & spicerianum in that hybrid.

I think I have a photo of it somewhere with a name, but I have to check photos from several shows going back up to 15 years.

[PaphMadMan]

There is a pretty good chance this is Paph A. Dimmock, a fairly simple classic hybrid (villosum x hirsutissimum) x druryi. When it was registered in 1902 it was boxallii rather than villosum, but they are now considered synonyms. It would have been present in many early-mid 1900s collections.

The stripes come from druryi, the spots and much of the color from hirsutissimum, and villosum helps the form and gives it shine. There are certainly other hybrids of this general appearance, and you will never know for sure, but A. Dimmock is about right.

[Fairorchids]

Your photos shows flower just opened, so the dorsal has not reached its final shape yet. Keep this in mind when comparing with following:

I have seen several plants with very similar flowers.

• In the DC area, these plants are often shown under the name Paph Affine (1st photo), but that name is not recognized by the RHS. Paph affine is a species, which is syn with Paph gratrixianum, but that is not what you have.

• I believe that I have also seen the DC population shown under Paph Lathamianum, which is a primary hybrid between villosum & spicerianum. See the 2nd photo for that hybrid.

• The most likely candidate for your plant, is Paph A. Dimmock. Please see 3rd photo. Family tree is (druryi x [hirsutissimum x boxallii]); today boxallii is considered to be a variety of villosum.

[MNBloom]

Thank you all SOOOO Much!!!

I am delighted with the info and that it originates from such a long history.

It's Fantastic to put a name to this beautiful Paph.