Paphiopedilum pittchianum GRUSS

Section Barbata

 

In Issue 3 of 2026 of the American magazine *Orchid Digest*, Olaf Gruss described a new *Paphiopedilum* species named after Pittch Suntichitrungruan (known on Facebook as BioBeam).

Unfortunately, inquiries sent to BioBeam regarding the use of the images on this website went unanswered. Here are links to the article:

Page 1   Page 2   Page 3   Page 4   Page 5

In the autumn of 2025, Paph. papuanum plants appeared in Thailand that reportedly differ from the standard type due to their nearly horizontal petals and a distinct staminode. Locations near the city of Sorong (see illustration) were cited as their origin.

The description of the new species identifies the island of Pulau Kei Besar (Kei Islands = South Moluccas) as the location. Paph. sandyanum was recently described by Cavestro and Benk from the neighboring island of Kabupaten Maluku Tenggara. A group of authors subsequently classified this species as a synonym of Paph. papuanum (see Species / Paph. sandyanum).

 

It remains to be seen whether further variants of Paph. papuanum will be discovered in the coming years: