Selected Species - by Peter Taylor

Paphiopedilum charlesworthii (Rolfe) Pfitzer

Rebecca Northern, in Miniature Orchids, refers to Paphiopedilum charlesworthii as 'a stunning species' and the accompanying photograph, taken some years ago in Sydney supports this accolade.  However, where have all the charlesworthii's gone?  A quick review of some early copies of the Australian Orchid Review shows that this species, along with Paphiopedilum spicerianum, was the favoured shade/bush house Paph. of many growers in what today (with the sophistication of shade cloth, misting systems, etc) would be considered fairly primitive conditions!  For some reason the species appears to have fallen out of favour with Paph. growers and I have not seen even a small plant, much less one of the great specimens of earlier years, benched at society meetings for a very long time.  Perhaps familiarity led to some contempt for the species as 'old fashioned' and as exciting new species from Indonesia, Borneo and, more recently, the stunning Parvisepalum section from China, were made available to enthusiasts the rush to embrace the 'new' led us to forget the 'old'.  Does any Australian nursery have P. charlesworthii seedlings available?  If not, it is time to rectify the situation and get this lovely species back on the list of desirable orchids.

Paphiopedilum charlesworthii is distributed in the Lake Inle region of Burma (where some wonderful Paph. bellatulum have also been discovered) and in the Assam region of India.  It is a high altitude (1700 metres) cool grower (hence its compatibility with shade-house conditions in Sydney) and Lance Birk in The Paphiopedilum Growers Manual states that its annual rainfall is 72 inches (1800mm) and temperature range is 60⁰-40⁰F and 87⁰-62⁰F in winter and summer. It grows in rock crevices on limestone hills and all authors mention that the roots of the plant are particularly strong and cling tenaciously to the rocks.  It is a dwarf Paphiopedilum species with leaves rarely longer than 15cm.  Its foliage resembles Paphiopedilum spicerianum and apparently the two species often grow intermixed. 

The species blooms in autumn with a single, stunningly beautiful and long-lasting flower.  The broad dorsal sepal is perhaps the most attractive sepal of any paphiopedilum species.  It is up to 6cm wide, white overlaid with a lovely rose red and carmine veins.  Petals are a greenish-brown with green veins and the lip has brown-purple tones.  A lovely white staminode completes the colour spectrum of the flower.

Paphiopedilum charlesworthii was discovered by R. Moore in Burma in 1893 and was named by Rolfe in The Orchid Review of that year after Mr. J. Charlesworth of Bradford, the person to flower the species in Britain.  It, along with Paphiopedilum spicerianum (first flowered in England in 1878) was a particularly popular species and the great orchid firms of Veitch and Sander imported thousands.  Both species today are considered scarce in habitat.  I believe that amateur growers of species orchids quite often have forgotten their responsibility for what has been called 'cultivation conservation'.  If we have rare and endangered species, we should make every effort to self or, better still, outcross the species.  We don't need sophisticated flasking equipment as in all parts of Australia, orchid nurseries are happy to get seed pods and return either a flask or two or some seedlings to the owner.  Other seedling can then be made available commercially.  Do you have a good clone of Paph. charlesworthii?  If so, perhaps you can do your bit in resurrecting the popularity of a now neglected species.  Think what a Christmas present a few seedlings of this species would be!

© Peter Taylor and Australian Orchid Council Inc 1998

Originally published in "Orchids Australia" December 1998.