Explore & Experience Some of the Rarest Orchids during Your Wildflower Tour in China
By: Lun Li
Tags: Flowers

China is the hotspot for plant biodiversity. It is a land that is enriched with some 30,000 plant species and most of them are endemic flowers. Unevenly distributed in four geographical regions, these endemic plant species instigate people from all across the world to come here. While some come to satiate their wanderlust and capture different types of endemic flowers along with the fascinating scenery in their lens, avid flower lovers come to witness the breathtaking beauty of endemic plants and flowers and gather information about them.

Though there are different types of endemic flowers that you can witness during flower photography or wildflower china tour, one of the most common of them is Orchid. There are more than 1300 species of orchids that you can find in different parts of China. If you want to explore the amazing diversity of orchids in China, then you can join orchid photo tour and experience something amazing. Till then, here are a few types of orchids that you can find in China.

Cypripedium tibeticum

One of the most startling lady slipper orchids in China is Cypripedium tibeticum. It is a perennial, herbaceous, terrestrial orchid of high mountain meadows, forest margins, and scrub forests. Its glabrous and thick stem can reach a height of 35 cm, however, it is not uncommon to find flowering stems half that high, mainly in exposed habitats. As variations in forms and colors are extreme, generalizing the flower is a bit difficult. The steady features include a highly corrugated lip, which is richly flushed with maroon brown to purple pigment, striated petals and sepals, and a glabrous ovary.

Cypripedium flavum

It is a plant of high mountain valleys, found only in the Western part of China from northern Yunnan, a small part of eastern Xizang (Tibet), throughout western Sichuan, western Hubei. Cypripedium flavum is a herbaceous, deciduous orchid that has a fleshy and densely pubescent stem, grows nearly 60 cm. Moreover, it bears several pubescent elliptic leaves in an altering pattern up the stem. The rhizome is stout and bears many thick, light brown roots. The color of the flowers is variable, usually being a yellow to cream base throughout. Cypripedium flavum is borne singly, or in pair but it is very rare.

Cypripedium farreri

It is one of the rarest yellow slipper orchids of the world that is found in the south-western part of China. Cypripedium farreri is an orchid of open, grassy, rocky slopes of high mountains. The overall appearance of the flower is much like other members of Cypripedium family, but is much smaller and has fewer leaves. Each pubescent stem carries no more than three broad elongate to ovate and plated leaves. Generally, the flowers are produced singly; however, on occasion plants are double flowers and have a natural spread of 7 to 9 cm each.

Besides, you can also find Cypripedium henryi, Cypripedium plectrochilum, Cypripedium bardolphianum, and many more. If you want to witness some of the oldest and most stunning gardens of the world along with various flowers, then you can be a part of China botanical tours. So, pack your bag and start your journey to this land today!

Author bio: Wang Chen is a professional flower photographer and a regular blogger on China botanical tours. In this wrote-up, he has provided information about different types of orchids that you can find during your wildflower China tour.