Contents: Introduction. I. General Section: 1. Introduction to the taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus paphiopedilum. 2. Problems in botanical taxonomy. 3. Orchidaceae Aka orchids. 4. The cypripediae. 5. The genus paphiopedilum. 6. Paphiopedilum culture. II. Descriptive section: 7. Description of taxa. 8. Notes on albinism. 9. Infrageneric taxonomy. III. The species: 1. Subgenus Parvisepalum. 2. Subgenus Brachypetalum. 3. Subgenus Paphiopedilum. 4. Subgenus Sigmatopetalum. 5. Subgenus Megastaminodium. 6. Subgenus polyantha. 7. Subgenus Cochlopetalum. Appendices.

Heavily revised and augmented text written by the first author, with contributed information by Guy Chiron and Sandy Ohlund. Starting with a short preamble and a detailed discussion, the book continues with a general section dealing with the basics of orchids and orchid taxonomy. Thereafter, the genus Paphiopedilum, representing the Asian tropical and subtropical slipper orchids, is discussed. The infrageneric divisions of the genus are explained and every one of the 98 species of the genus is treated in detail: basionym (the name as given in the original publication), synonym(s), discussion, etymology (origin of the name of the species), detailed description, distribution and habitat, flowering data in situ and in cultivation (as far as available), miscellaneous notes such as the mitotic chromosome count, and varieties and forms (as far as applicable). All species are illustrated whereby the great majority of pictures are photographs taken from plants in cultivation and in their natural habitat. Close-ups are available for all species, as well as in situ photographs for a great number of the taxa. Furthermore, plates from famous Botanical works have been included.

After the descriptive section, there is a chapter with identification keys to the various subgenera, sections, and subsections, and finally for each of these, there is a key leading to the species. The book is completed by an index of plant names and a bibliography.

Overall, the layout of the book warrants easy use. Those not interested in the purely scientific chapters can easily jump directly to the descriptive part of the work that is perfect for identification.