Japanese Archival Note Card, Cypripedium King Albert by Ikeda Zuigetsu: Ranka-Fu Orchid Series

A yellow pouch bloom balances at the end of a violet, wire-thin stem.

This archival note card of the orchid Cypripedium King Albert from the Ranka-Fu orchid series is from Japan. Ikeda Zuigetsu lived from 1877 to 1944, and the Ranka-Fu series is an orchid series from Japan, where orchid cultivation had a long history before the twentieth century. A yellow and brown flower with a pouch lip sits atop a thin purple-dark stem rising from a rosette of mottled green leaves. It is 5 inches long and 7 high.

A slender stem carrying a big idea.