Paphiopedilum sanderianum

[bechinolina]

starting to flower. until i get one with 80cm long i think i won't be very happy. Rothschildianum is much more impressive to my eyes.

[Meg25]

Cool! Will it's top petal open more or 'stand up straighter'?

[pavel]

Quite nice. Hopefully that dorsal sepal will stand up more as the flower matures.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

What a lovely slipper orchid bloom. So pretty!

cheers,
BD

[walingwaling]

I like it!!!

[smurphr]

SEE! now i think i deserve to go out and get something like this!!! simply badass!

[Tom-19951]

Not sure this is a pure sanderianum...The true/pure sanderianum has soft and shiny leaves, no visible bone-structure showing up on the leaf.
Years ago, while this species was still hard to find, a good friend of mine got a "sanderianum seedling" from a well-known nurseryman in California. US. Few years passed by, My friend lost his interest in orchids and I bought that plant from him. A year later, I bloomed it...It was a dissapointment because I was hoping it would be more spectacular(yes, the flower was nice but the petals were only about 12" long). After some research, asking around and studied some more, we concluded it was not a pure sanderianum.
That plant I had looked very much like yours.

BTW, it is a nice Paph. no matter what it is. Also, I could be wrong about your plant too...

Edit--How long are the petals anyway?

[Apple Mary]

So lovely

[bechinolina]

seller is from Illinois. there's lot debat about petals length, lowland and highland forms, winter and summer flowering...hybrids may be possible, but what could be the parentage?! must be backcrossed to sanderianum to produce such flowers, very close to sanderianum.
petals are now about 45cm but i will give them a few days before final mesurement.

[catttan]

Beautiful!!!!! Looking forward to pictures the full blooms.