[3] This species was initially described as Phragmipedium xerophyticum by Soto Arenas, Salazar & Hágsater in 1990, but transferred to its own genus by Albert & Chase in 1992, in part based on results from DNA analysis.

[3] The genus Mexipedium is listed as Phragmipedium in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and for other legal purposes.

Its name is derived from the country of origin Mexico and the Latin pes (“foot”), referring to the slipper-shaped lip.

Its growth form is unusual in that it tends to spread by runners, offset from the parent plant by several centimeters.

The tiny white-pink flowers show a shieldlike, pinkish staminode and a slipper-shaped lip.