Thanks Angela. The Chamois analogy is the closest thing that I can think of that most people would know. However, if you've ever felt fired, but unglazed porcelain, that's exactly what the foliage feels like. There's no other Paph that I'm aware of that has the same texture.
When I first saw this species, it was at the Toronto show (circa ~1993, 1994) and Alan Salzman from Pennfield, N.Y. was there as a vendor/exhibitor. I was looking at a non-blooming dayanum that he had on his table; but, I did not pick it up. He noticed my interest and picked up the plant and handed it to me and told me to feel the leaves. "Odd", I thought....until I felt the leaves! Wow! What a silky smooth, exotic texture; but, not "glassy" smooth.....it was soft, even though I could not see even a hint of fine hair, or fuzz on the leaves. It felt like unglazed porcelain. I had to put the plant down because it was $100 and I couldn't afford it. I'd already spent my limit for that show. However, it was one of those plants that keeps you up at night, wishing you'd bought it. So, I called Alan after the show and he still had it. I asked him to bring it to the next show in my area, a month or two later. I gladly paid the $100 and took it home. 'Had to be careful and not pet it so much that I risked bruising it, though.
