Paph callosum 'Baling'
I am particularly proud of this paphio as it was collected (not by me) from a southern district of my home state. For those of you who followed Zain's thread 'Wild Orchids' you may have come across his post on the Paph barbatum of Gunung Jerai one of the highest mountain in my state of Kedah. This ' barbatum' has been the subject of much speculation and debate and has been variously identified as a sub-species and also as a callosum var sublaeve. However this and the variety found on Penang Hill do not thrive in the lowlands and not known to bloom in the lowlands either.
Some time last year I was offered a plant collected from the southern district of my state with lighter coloured leaves than barbatum and which the grower said was callosum and assured me that unlike barbatum this would definitely bloom in the lowlands.A year later and now with 3 fans (growth), much to my delight, it is flowering with a magnificent bloom nearly 4 inches (10 cm) across , bigger than those found on Gunung Jerai . There is also another bud on the spike, which is 1 foot (30 cm) tall. I've added the epithet 'Baling' to denote its place of origin.
If it looks like a Maudiae, it is not surprising as callosum is one of he parents of Maudiae.
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