| Sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cypripedioideae |
| Genus: | Cypripedium |
| Species: | C. passerinum |
| Binomial name | |
| Cypripedium passerinum | |
Cypripedium passerinum is a species of lady's slipper orchid known by the common names sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper, [3] spotted lady's-slipper, and Franklin's lady's-slipper.
This orchid is a rhizomatous monocot, perennial herb growing to a maximum height around 50 centimetres (20 inches). There are 3 to 7 oval or lance-shaped leaves arranged alternately on the stem, each up to 19 centimetres (7.5 inches) long by 6 cm (2.4 in) wide. The herbage is hairy and sticky. [4] The inflorescence at the top of the stem contains one or two flowers. The flower has a dorsal sepal covering the petals and two lateral sepals. There are three petals: two flat white petals on either side and one central petal modified into a white or pink-tinged pouch with purplish spotting at the lip and inside, which is said to resemble a sparrow's egg. [3] The fruit is a capsule. The plant may reproduce by seed but it more often reproduces vegetatively by sending up more stems from the rhizome. [5] [6]
This species grows farther north than other Cypripedium . [3] It grows in moist spruce forests at low elevations, tundra, dunes, and river terraces, lakeshores, and streambanks. [5] [6] It often grows on calcareous substrates. It is associated with plants such as white spruce (Picea glauca), Engelmann spruce (P. engelmannii), western redcedar (Thuja occidentalis), red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), willows (Salix spp.), horsetail (Equisetum spp.), longtube twinflower (Linnaea borealis), sedges (Carex spp.), one-sided pyrola (Orthilia secunda), and moss carpet (Pleurozium schreberi). [5]
Cypripedium passerinum is native to northern North America. It is widespread in Canada from British Columbia to Quebec, as well as all three northern territories. It also is found Alaska and in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, including inside Glacier National Park. [5] [7] [8]
Little is known about the importance of C. passerinum to the ecosystem. In some studies, it has been noted that insects (e.g., moths, sawfly, and a leaf miner) have fed on them. [5] Bees have been identified to pollinate other Cypripedium however unlike other Cypripedium, C. passerinum is self pollinating and therefore does not require a pollinator for reproduction. [9] A variety of species grow with the sparrow's-egg lady-slipper, such as Linnaea borealis , Carex concinna , Orthilia secunda , and Pleurozium schreberi. [9]
Cypripedium passerinum is an extremely rare plant in certain areas. Its highly specific habitat requirements contribute to its risk of extinction. In the United States, C. passerinum is only found in two states, Alaska and Montana, and in locations that are threatened by oil and gas exploration. [5] In Canada, it has been found in Wagner Natural Area outside of Edmonton, where efforts are ongoing to use microsatellites for its conservation. [10] [11]
Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium. They are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower. There are approximately 165 species in the subfamily.
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 (Cypripedioideae). They are widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of Europe and Africa (Algeria), Russia, China, Central Asia, Canada the United States, Mexico, and Central America. They are most commonly known as slipper orchids, lady's slipper orchids, or ladyslippers; 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 (Kúpris), an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and πέδιλον (pédilon), meaning "sandal".
Calypso is a genus of orchids containing one species, Calypso bulbosa, known as the calypso orchid, fairy slipper or Venus's slipper. It is a perennial member of the orchid family found in undisturbed northern and montane forests. It has a small pink, purple, pinkish-purple, or red flower accented with a white lip, darker purple spottings, and yellow beard. The genus Calypso takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors. The specific epithet, bulbosa, refers to the bulb-like corms.
Cypripedium kentuckiense, the Kentucky lady's slipper or southern lady's slipper, is a member of the orchid genus Cypripedium. Members of this genus are commonly referred to as lady's slipper orchids.
Cypripedium acaule is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae native to eastern North America. It is currently the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the state wildflower of New Hampshire, United States.
Cypripedium californicum, the California lady's slipper, is a member of the orchid genus Cypripedium, the lady's slipper orchids, native to the western United States.
Cypripedium candidum, known as the small white lady's slipper or white lady's slipper, is a rare orchid of the genus Cypripedium. It is native to eastern North America across the northern United States and southern Canada.
Cypripedium parviflorum, commonly known as yellow lady's slipper or moccasin flower, is a lady's slipper orchid native to North America. It is widespread, ranging from Alaska south to Arizona and Georgia. It grows in fens, wetlands, shorelines, and damp woodlands.
The biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia are units of a classification system used by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests for the Canadian province's fourteen different broad, climatic ecosystems. The classification system, termed Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification, exists independently of other ecoregion systems, one created by the World Wildlife Fund and the other in use by Environment Canada, which is based on one created by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and also in use by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The system of biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification was partly created for the purpose of managing forestry resources, but is also in use by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and other provincial agencies. A biogeoclimatic zone is defined as "a geographic area having similar patterns of energy flow, vegetation and soils as a result of a broadly homogenous macroclimate."
Cypripedium dickinsonianum is a species of orchid known as Dickinson's lady's slipper or Dickinson's cypripedium after American orchidist Stirling Dickinson.
Cypripedium guttatum, the spotted lady's slipper or Alaskan lady's slipper, is a species of orchid found on three continents. Each stem has about two clasping leaves that alternate. The plant has a height of 12 centimeters to 35 centimeters. The magenta and white colored labellum is pitcher shaped.
Cypripedium reginae, known as the showy lady's slipper, pink-and-white lady's-slipper, or the queen's lady's-slipper, is a rare lady's-slipper orchid native to northern North America. Although never common, this plant has vanished from much of its historical range due to habitat loss. It is the state flower of Minnesota.
Cypripedium calceolus is a lady's-slipper orchid, and the type species of the genus Cypripedium. It is native to Europe and Asia.
Grass Wood is an ancient woodland of 88 hectares in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, that has an exceptional ground flora of woodland wildflowers.
Cypripedium arietinum, the ram's head lady's slipper, is a rare orchid that grows in lightly shaded areas with calcareous soils. It is characteristic of the alvars around the Great Lakes in North America, as well as in New England. In Canada, it is found from Quebec to Saskatchewan, plus an isolated population in Nova Scotia, where it grows on gypsum based soils, 330 km away from the nearest population in Maine.
Geocaulon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Santalaceae containing the single species Geocaulon lividum, which is known by the common names northern comandra and false toadflax. It is native to northern North America, where it is common and widespread from Alaska to Newfoundland and into the northernmost contiguous United States.
Cypripedium yatabeanum, known as the spotted lady slipper or palomino lady's slipper, is a species of terrestrial orchid. It is native to Alaska, to the Russian Far East, and northern Japan.
Media related to Sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper (Cypripedium passerinum) at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper (Cypripedium passerinum) at Wikispecies
