Paphiopedilum, often called the Venus slipper, is a genus of the lady slipper orchid subfamily Cypripedioideae of the flowering plant family Orchidaceae. The genus comprises some 80 accepted taxa including several natural hybrids. The genus is native to Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, New Guinea and the Solomon and Bismarck Islands. The type species of this genus is Paphiopedilum insigne.
Paphiopedilum
Paphiopedilum hennisianum flower, showing detail of the staminode (click to magnify)
Paphiopedilum fairrieanum Orchid from Eastern Himalayas, India
One of the "Miya" hybrid Paphiopedilum cultivars bred by T. Ozawa
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
Orchid
A Phalaenopsis flower
Germinating seeds of the temperate orchid Anacamptis coriophora
Neotinea lactea, collected in Sardinia; the small size, compared to a one-Euro coin, and the two globose tuberoids typical of the Neotinea genus are highlighted