''Paphiopedilum dianthum'' is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, and Vietnam. It is known commonly as the double flowered paphiopedilum. This species grows on limestone in forest habitat. It produces 4 to 6 green leathery leaves. It bears 1 to 5 flowers at the top of an erect or arching stalk up to 80 centimeters long. The flower is up to 10 centimeters wide. The dorsal sepal is white with green veining and the synsepal is greenish to yellow-green with green veining. The striped greenish or brownish lateral petals are long and twisted with hairy warts. The lip is helmet-shaped.''Paphiopedilum dianthum''.
Flora of China. The petal warts and helmet-shaped lip petal are likely attractive to a main pollinator of the species, the hoverfly ''

Episyrphus balteatus ''Episyrphus balteatus'', sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout the Palaearctic region, which covers Europe, North Asia, and North Africa. The upp ...

''.Shi, Jun, et al. (2007)
Pollination syndromes predict brood-site deceptive pollination by female hoverflies in ''Paphiopedilum dianthum'' (Orchidaceae).
''Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica'' 551-60. This rare plant has a restricted, fragmented population. It is poached from the wild for use in the horticultural trade, and its habitat is threatened with destruction and degradation.

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dianthum Endangered plants Orchids of Vietnam Orchids of Laos Orchids of China Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cypripedioideae-stub