Paphiopedilum lowii
Another victim of the vacation spike-snippers...
This is Paph. lowii. A very young plant with two growths and two new ones coming along.
Paph. lowii is a member of the multifloral Pardalopetalum Alliance, which derives its name from the leopard-like spots along the base of the petals.
This particular plant came tagged without a cultivar name, so it's difficult to know if it's been bred by some of the best specimens of the species. It only had 3 blooms, which may indicate polyploidy (as opposed to diploid), which I don't fully understand, but has to do with the genetic makeup, and polyploidy blooms generally are larger and fewer than diploids. At any rate, it is an eye-catching paph, with its apple green petals fading into a grape purple at the tips. And the "wingspan" (natural width) of this one is about 18 cm, or around 7+" - pretty wide for a paph. It reminds me of graceful birds flying in a small formation. This photo doesn't do it justice, as it had begun a downturn by the time we got to photographing it. The blooms were brighter and more erect earlier on.
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