These plants are known as Slipper flowers or Pouch flowers due to the rounded, inflated lower lip of the blooms. They come from a range of habits in Central and South America. In the main the flowers in this genus are in shades of yellow or purple, but very often they are also spotted or splashed with contrasting colours.

Calceolaria arachnoidea is a native of Chile, which likes to grow in moist soil with plenty of humus. It is very hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius in its native land. The unusual purple, lady's slipper-shaped flowers are borne in loose clusters on short stems, contrasting with the greyish, hairy foliage.