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Cypripedium is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy Orchidaceae; 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 (AlgeriaWalid, Nemer & Rebbas, Khellaf & Krouchi, Faiza. (2019). Découverte de Cypripedium calceolus (Orchidaceae) au Djurdjura (Algérie), nouvelle pour l’Afrique du Nord. Flora Mediterranea. 29. 207-214. 10.7320/FlMedit29.207.) (one species), 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 (), an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and πέδιλον (), meaning "sandal".
Most of Cypripedium grow in temperate and subtropical climates, but 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.
The inflorescence is raceme. It can carry one to twelve , as in Cypripedium californicum. But most species have one to three flowers. There are three , with, in most species, the two lateral ones more or less fused. The flower has three acute 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 , which it Pollination trap temporarily. The flowers show a column with a unique shield-like staminode. The ovary is 3-locular (with three chambers).
| Cypripedium plectrochilum | N Myanmar to SC China | |
| Cypripedium yatabeanum | Russian Far East to N & NC Japan, Aleutian Islands to SW Alaska | |
| Cypripedium candidum – Small white lady slipper | SE Canada, NC & E USA | |
| Cypripedium cordigerum – Heart-Lip lady's slipper | N Pakistan to Himalaya, S Tibet | |
| Cypripedium farreri | China | |
| Cypripedium fasciolatum | China | |
| Cypripedium henryi – Henry's lady's slipper | C China | |
| Cypripedium kentuckiense – Kentucky lady's slipper, Southern lady's slipper | C & E USA | |
| Cypripedium montanum – Large lady's slipper, Mountain lady's slipper, White lady's slipper, Moccasin flower | Alaska to California | |
| Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. – (Greater) yellow lady's slipper, moccasin flower, or hairy yellow ladyslipper | Canada, E USA | |
| Cypripedium segawai | EC Taiwan | |
| Cypripedium shanxiense | China to N Japan | |
| Cypripedium formosanum – Formosa lady's slipper | C Taiwan | |
| Cypripedium franchetii – Franchet's lady's slipper | C & SC China | |
| Cypripedium himalaicum | SE Tibet to Himalaya | |
| Cypripedium ludlowii | SE Tibet | |
| Cypripedium macranthos – Large-flowered lady's slipper | E Belarus to temperate E Asia | |
| Cypripedium taibaiense | China | |
| Cypripedium taiwanalpinum | Taiwan | |
| Cypripedium tibeticum | Sikkim to C China | |
| Cypripedium yunnanense | SE Tibet, China | |
| Cypripedium debile – Frail lady's slipper | Japan, Taiwan, China | |
| Cypripedium palangshanense | China | |
| Cypripedium forrestii | China | |
| Cypripedium micranthum | China | |
| Cypripedium fargesii | China | |
| Cypripedium lentiginosum | China | |
| Cypripedium lichiangense S.C.Chen & P.J.Cribb | China (SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan), NE Myanmar | |
| Cypripedium malipoense S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu | Yunnan, China South-Central | |
| Cypripedium margaritaceum – Pearl-white lady's slipper | China | |
| Cypripedium sichuanense | China | |
| Cypripedium wumengense | China (NE. Yunnan) | |
| Cypripedium conzattianum | Mexico (Colima) | |
| Cypripedium gomezianum | Mexico (Colima) | |
| Cypripedium luzmarianum | Mexico (Jalisco, Michoacán) | |
| Cypripedium molle | Mexico | |
| Cypripedium dickinsonianum | Mexico (S Chiapas) to Guatemala | |
| Cypripedium irapeanum – Pelican Orchid, Irapeao lady's slipper | Mexico to Honduras | |
| Cypripedium susanae | Mexico (Nayarit) | |
| Cypripedium passerinum – Franklyn's lady's slipper, small white Northern lady's slipper, sparrow's egg lady's slipper | Alaska to Canada, Montana | |
| Cypripedium reginae Walter – Large white lady's slipper, Queen's lady's slipper, showy lady's slipper | C & E Canada, E. USA | |
| Cypripedium wardii | SE. Tibet, China | |
| Alaska |
| E Canada, NC & NE USA |
| Russian Far East |
| W Canada, NW USA |
| Manitoba, Canada |
| Russia to Korea |
| China |
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