Cypripedium


Cypripedium is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy orchids; it is one of five genera that together compose the subfamily of lady's slipper orchids. They are widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of Europe and Africa , Russia, China, Central Asia, Canada the United States, Mexico, and Central America. They are most commonly known as slipper orchids or lady's slipper orchids; other common names include moccasin flower, camel's foot, squirrel foot, steeple cap, Venus' shoes, and whippoorwill shoe. An abbreviation used in trade journals is "Cyp." The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek Κύπρις, an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and πέδιλον, meaning "sandal".
Some species grow in the tundra in Alaska and Siberia, which is an unusually cold habitat for orchids. Other species occur well into tropical areas such as Honduras and Myanmar.
Some of the northern species can withstand extreme cold, growing under the snow and blooming when the snow melts. But, in the wild, some have become rare and close to extinction, due to an ever shrinking natural habitat and over-collection, people prizing the flowers for their beauty. Several species are legally protected in some regions. In the late 20th century, only a single known plant of Cypripedium calceolus survived in Britain.

Characteristics

As with most terrestrial orchids, the rhizome is short and robust, growing in the uppermost soil layer. The rhizome grows annually with a growth bud at one end and dies off at the other end. The stem grows from the bud at the tip of the rhizome. Most slipper orchids have an elongate erect stem, with leaves growing along its length. But the mocassin flower or pink lady's slipper has a short underground stem with leaves springing from the soil. The often hairy leaves can vary from ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, folded along their length. The stems lack pseudobulbs.
The inflorescence is racemose. It can carry one to twelve flowers, as in Cypripedium californicum. But most species have one to three flowers. There are three sepals, with, in most species, the two lateral ones more or less fused. The flower has three acute petals with the third a striking slipper-shaped lip, which is lowermost. The sepals and the petals are usually similarly colored, with the lip in a different color. But variations on this theme occur. The aspect of the lip of different species can vary a great deal. As with all orchids, it is specially constructed to attract pollinators, which it traps temporarily. The flowers show a column with a unique shield-like staminode. The ovary is 3-locular.

Taxonomy

Comparison between a DNA-analysis and the morphological characteristics in this genus has shown that there is a high degree of divergence between the two, probably due to long periods of isolation or extinction of intermediate forms. The Eurasian species with yellow or red flowers form a distinct group from the North American species with yellow flowers. The Mexican Pelican Orchid and the California lady's slipper are probably the first diverging line. They share several similarities with their sister group Selenipedium.

Uses

The genus has a long history of use, dating back 2,500 years to the Far East, where they were used medicinally. Several orchid species thought to be extinct in the United Kingdom including one native species in this genus have been found in habitat and are currently the subject of aggressive conservation efforts to protect and restore these showy plants to their native ranges.
The following have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
There are 58 currently recognized species and nothospecies recognized in this genus, as of May 2014:
  1. Cypripedium acaule – Mocassin flower, Pink lady's slipper, Two-leaved lady's slipper
  2. Cypripedium × alaskanum –
  3. Cypripedium × andrewsii –
  4. Cypripedium arietinum – Ram's-head lady's slipper
  5. Cypripedium bardolphianum –
  6. Cypripedium calceolus – Yellow lady's slipper
  7. Cypripedium calcicolum –
  8. Cypripedium californicum – California lady's slipper
  9. Cypripedium candidum – Small white lady slipper
  10. Cypripedium × catherinae –
  11. Cypripedium × columbianum –
  12. Cypripedium cordigerum – Heart-Lip lady's slipper
  13. Cypripedium daweishanense S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu –
  14. Cypripedium debile – Frail lady's slipper
  15. Cypripedium dickinsonianum –
  16. Cypripedium elegans –
  17. Cypripedium fargesii –
  18. Cypripedium farreri –
  19. Cypripedium fasciculatum – Brownie lady's slipper, Clustered lady's slipper
  20. Cypripedium fasciolatum
  21. Cypripedium flavum – Yellow lady's slipper
  22. Cypripedium formosanum – Formosa lady's slipper
  23. Cypripedium forrestii –
  24. Cypripedium franchetii – Franchet's lady's slipper
  25. Cypripedium froschii –
  26. Cypripedium guttatum – Spotted lady's slipper
  27. Cypripedium henryi – Henry's lady's slipper
  28. Cypripedium x herae –
  29. Cypripedium himalaicum –
  30. Cypripedium irapeanum – Pelican Orchid, Irapeao lady's slipper
  31. Cypripedium japonicum – Japan lady's slipper
  32. Cypripedium kentuckiense – Kentucky lady's slipper, Southern lady's slipper
  33. Cypripedium lentiginosum –
  34. Cypripedium lichiangense S.C.Chen & P.J.Cribb –
  35. Cypripedium ludlowii –
  36. Cypripedium macranthos – Large-flowered lady's slipper
  37. Cypripedium malipoense S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu –
  38. Cypripedium margaritaceum – Pearl-white lady's slipper
  39. Cypripedium micranthum –
  40. Cypripedium molle –
  41. Cypripedium montanum – Large lady's slipper, Mountain lady's slipper, White lady's slipper, Moccasin flower
  42. Cypripedium palangshanense –
  43. Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. – yellow lady's slipper, moccasin flower, or hairy yellow ladyslipper
  44. Cypripedium passerinum – Franklyn's lady's slipper, small white Northern lady's slipper, sparrow's egg lady's slipper
  45. Cypripedium plectrochilum –
  46. Cypripedium reginae Walter – Large white lady's slipper, Queen's lady's slipper, showy lady's slipper
  47. Cypripedium segawai –
  48. Cypripedium shanxiense –
  49. Cypripedium sichuanense –
  50. Cypripedium subtropicum –
  51. Cypripedium taibaiense –
  52. Cypripedium tibeticum –
  53. Cypripedium × ventricosum –
  54. Cypripedium wardii –
  55. Cypripedium × wenqingiae –
  56. Cypripedium wumengense –
  57. Cypripedium yatabeanum –
  58. Cypripedium yunnanense –