''Paphiopedilum druryi'' is a species of

orchid 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. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Agastyamalai Hills of

southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. It is the only southern Indian orchid species in the genus. Rediscovered in 1972 after its original description in 1870, wild populations were decimated by commercial collectors and it is one of the few plants that are listed as threatened by the Indian government and included in

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

and the IUCN Redlist. Paph druryi

The species was described by Colonel

Richard Henry Beddome Colonel Richard Henry Beddome (11 May 1830 – 23 February 1911) was a British military officer and naturalist in India, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several ...

in 1870 and named after the collector of the first specimens, Colonel

Heber Drury Colonel Heber Drury (4 March 1819 - 30 October 1905) was a British army officer who worked in India and contributed to botany in his spare time. He published two books and several articles on botany and is commemorated in the name of the only pen ...

(1819-1905), an amateur botanist who worked in Travancore. The species was found in the valleys of the Cardamom Hills and flowers in May and June. The leaves are long and stout. The scape is 7 to 9 inches long and erect and hairy bearing a single flower. The dorsal sepal is broad, pointed and bent forward and greenish to yellow in colour with a purple medial stripe. The outside is hairy. The broad petals also have a dark medial stripe and dark spots towards the base and the flower bends slightly downwards. The lip is pale yellow and channeled at the base. It was introduced into Europe and many hybrids were developed by horticulturists.

Harry Veitch Sir Harry James Veitch (24 June 1840 – 6 July 1924) was an eminent English horticulturist in the nineteenth century, who was the head of the family nursery business, James Veitch & Sons, based in Chelsea, London. He was instrumental in establi ...

produced a hybrid with '' Cypripedium niveum''. Another hybrid ''buchanianum'' is a cross between ''spicerianum'' and ''druryi'' and numerous others hybrids been in trade making the wild type difficult to identify in cultivation. After the species was described in the 1870s and taken into cultivation in Europe, the species was not seen in the wild until 1972. Almost immediately the new colony of plants that was discovered, with as many of 3000 plants, was wiped out by commercial collectors. Just three plants were found and safeguarded. File:Cypripedium_drurii_Govindoo.jpg, Illustration in Beddome's description made by Govindoo

References

External links

Slipper Orchids

Botanical Survey of India
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1306383 druryi