Extremely Rare Orchid Blossoms in Bulgaria

News.bg, Feb 07, 2008

A very rare orchid “Malipoen Venus' Shoe” (Paphiopedilum malipoense) has blossomed in the Botanical garden of Bulgarian academy of science, informed BNR.

The Chinese call the flower the “Nephrite slipper” orchid.

The orchid is described in 1984 under a herbarium model collected in 1947. The flower could be found in very difficult to access areas in China and in the most northern regions of Viet Nam. It inhabits steep rocky limy hills between 570 and 1600 m above sea level.

Because of the difficulties in its cultivation, this type of orchid is very rarely in the collections of the botanical gardens.

The botanical garden of the Bulgarian academy of science got the flower from the Royal Botanical gardens in UK, under the “Rare orchids” program in 1991.

The orchid blossoms for the second time this year.

Everyone who is interested in seeing it may do it in the Botanical garden which is situated at the foot of Vitosha mountain in Sofia.