Paph. purpuratum in Hong Kong

Paphiopedilum purpuratum

　This is the only Paphiopedilum in Hong Kong. In near future, she will introduce the native Paph. purpratum in HK.

　In Spring, 2000, she and her brother found the colony of Paph. purpuratum in Hong Kong. Here, they will introduce you the new colony.
　She also post the same message on AOS's message board, and there was lot of reply. Would you leave massage on the boad or send e-mail to her.

A Crying Message From HK Paph. purpuratum

　Once point of time, these beautiful plants were growing all over Hong Kong island and New territory, it was a unique and beautiful phenomena when it all bloom in Hong Kong.

　I never got a chance to see it, because I was born too late, over many year's over collecting, this amazing phenomena had never appeared again. It becomes only elusion in my mind and a dream when I asleep. After many month's searching, we still couldn't locate Paph. purpuratum, my brother and I started to think - will they already gone completely from the wild?

　Just in this desperate and sad situation, Paph. purpuratum opens the door for us.　We found it! 　But I feel the desperate mother try to send out this message:　
"Please allow me and my children to live here, don't force us to leave our home"
　The mother is about 7 to 8 years old, about 9 to 11 stems plus new growth, only flowered few times in the previous years, her babies are all growing near by her, only 2 to 3 years old, only one baby flowered early of this year, the rest, still young babies, it is a family.

　When I saw their growing area, immediately I can tell, once a point of time, here was many huge families growing ground, however it been clean up by local people many years ago completely for commercial reason, but some how, one tinny little seed lucky to germinated after people abundant this area for good. For many years of growing, it becomes a mother, babies born year after year.

Here is a baby plant. It never flower before and very cute. there were other baby plants growing near by, but they were hiding under a tree root.

　They are in slow recover, but I don't know how long will this take, or how many percentage of the chance they can rebuilt that amazing phenomena. Remember, if you force them to leave their home, it will not bloom, it will grow weaker and weaker eventually, it will die, please do take my word is true, and this words are also part of the message Paph. purpuratum wish to sent you, if you really try, the price will be to high to pay.
　The Paph. purpuratum blooming time is October until February next year, so I have to wait for a long time before it bloom.
　We will try to locate some more group of Paph. purpuratum, just to ensure at the end of this year we have good blooming pictures.

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