This is a really nice Paphiopedilum species, personally one of my favorites. I love the color combination, the super long flower spikes and the gorgeous mottled leaves. It is a strong grower in my collection, it has nearly crawled out of its pot and this year it produced two flowers that opened within days of one another. Paphiopedilum appletonianum is a medium sized, warm to cool growing species that can grow either as a terrestrial, lithophyte and occasional epiphyte. that grows at elevations from 700 – 2000 meters across Southeast Asia. I grow mine in a mixture of medium bark and volcanic rocks, medium bright and intermediate temperatures. The flowers on my clone measure about 7 cm wide and are a little droopy in appearance with narrow petals. I have seen photos of other clones with larger flowers and larger and more spread open petals. Even though I love my plant, if I see one of those I will probably get it as well as I think aesthetically it is a better looking flower. I have been a bit on a slipper kick lately… I have several new plants on order. More on that later.

Paphiopedilum appletonianum (Gower) Rolfe, Orchid Rev. 4: 364 (1896).