This slipper orchid is displaying attractive flowers in the western Glasshouse corridor.
Belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae) the genus Paphiopedilum (slipper orchid) contains over 100 species. Members of the genus are terrestrial and grow in low-light, humus-rich conditions on the forest floor from southern China to Tropical Asia. The genus takes its common name slipper orchid from the large floral pouch displayed by all species. P. gratrixianum occurs in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China, and it is considered to be critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature due to human activity and destruction of its natural habitat. It is a clump-forming species with slender evergreen leaves and solitary flowers bearing veined petals and pouch, and a speckled upper sepal.