麻栗坡杓兰 ma li po shao lan

Plants 6-9 cm tall, with a stout rhizome. Stem short, covered by 2 sheaths, apex with 2 subopposite leaves prostrate on substrate. Leaf blade yellowish, spotted with maroon, very similar in color to petals and lip, broadly ovate to suborbicular, 12-14 × 12-14 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence terminal, 1-flowered, ebracteate; pedicel 2-3 cm, glabrous; ovary 1-2 cm, glabrous. Flower 4-5 cm in diam.; dorsal sepal and synsepal liver-colored; petals and lip yellowish, spotted with maroon; staminode liver-colored, with a yellow longitudinal stripe centrally and a narrow yellow margin. Dorsal sepal broadly ovate, 3-3.5 × 2.5-2.8 cm, both surfaces glabrous, minutely ciliate, apex acute; synsepal elliptic-ovate, slightly shorter and much narrower than dorsal sepal. Petals curved forward, enfolding lip, suboblong, ca. 4 × 1.5 cm, adaxially slightly pubescent, minutely ciliate, apex acute; lip pouched, strongly dorsiventrally flattened, ca. 2.5 × 2.5 cm, ± papillose on front surface. Staminode ovate-trullate, 12-13 mm, adaxially minutely papillate. Fl. Jun.

● Grassy and humus-rich places in forests or thickets; 2200-2300 m. SE Yunnan (Malipo).

One of us (Cribb) believes that Cypripedium malipoense may be a chlorotic plant of C. lentiginosum, but further investigation is needed.