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

A single dark hooded bloom perches on a thread-thin stem above spotted leaves.

This archival note card of the orchid Cypripedium Ciliolare 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 flower with a dark purple pouch and white-edged hood sits atop a very long slender stem. Mottled green leaves with dark spots spread at the base. The ground shades from grey-lilac to peach. It is 5 inches long and 7 high.

Skinny stem, big personality, and a spotted wardrobe.