Cypripedium

Cypripedium is a genus of 47 species of hardy, lady's-slipper orchids native to temperate and colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Some grow in the tundra in Alaska and Siberia, which is an unusually cold habitat for orchids. They can withstand extreme cold, growing under the snow and blooming when the snow melts. But, in the wild, most have become rare and close to extinction, due to an ever shrinking natural habitat and overcollection. In the late 20th century, only a single plant of Cypripedium calceolus survived in Britain.
Common names include slipper orchid, lady's slipper, mocassin flower, camel's foot, squirrel foot, steeple cap, Venus' shoes and whippoorwill shoe. An abbreviation used in trade journals is 'Cyp'.
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

Synonymy

The following genera have been brought into synonymy with Cypripedium:

Arietinum Beck Calceolaria Heist. ex Fabr., not to be confused with Calceolaria L. Calceolus Mill. Ciripedium Zumagl. Criogenes Salisb. Criosanthes Raf. Fissipes Small Hypodema Rchb. Sacodon Raf. Schizopedium Salisb.

Species and natural hybrids

There are approximately 356 species in this genus, including:

Yellow Lady's-Slipper
(Cypripedium calceolus)
type species

Mocassin Flower
(Cypripedium acaule)

Showy Lady's-slipper
(Cypripedium reginae)

• Cypripedium acaule : Mocassin Flower, Pink Lady's-Slipper,Two-leaved Lady's-slipper (C. and E. Canada, NC & E U.S.A)
• Cypripedium agnicapitatum (Manchuria)
• Cypripedium × alaskanum (C. guttatum × C. yatabeanum; Alaska)
• Cypripedium × andrewsii (C. candidum × C. parviflorum var. pubescens) (E Canada, NC & NE U.S.A)
• Cypripedium arietinum : Ram's-head Lady's-slipper (C & E Canada, NC & NE U.S.A)
• Cypripedium bardolphianum (China)
  • Cypripedium bardolphianum var. bardolphianum (China)
  • Cypripedium bardolphianum var. zhongdianense (China)
• Cypripedium calceolus (Yellow Lady's-Slipper; Europe to Japan)
• Cypripedium calcicolum (China)
• Cypripedium californicum (California Lady's-Slipper; Oregon, N. California)
• Cypripedium candidum (Small White Lady Slipper; SE Canada, NC & E U.S.A)
• Cypripedium × catherinae (C. macranthon × C. shanxiense; Russian Far East)
• Cypripedium cheniae (China)
• Cypripedium × columbianum (C. montanum × C. parviflorum var. pubescens; W Canada, NW U.S.A)
• Cypripedium cordigerum (Heart-Lip Lady's-slipper; N Pakistan to Himalaya, S Tibet)
• Cypripedium daweishanense (S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu) S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu (2005) (Yunnan, China South-Central)
• Cypripedium debile (Frail Lady's-slipper) (Japan, Taiwan, China)
• Cypripedium dickinsonianum (Mexico (S Chiapas) to Guatemala)
• Cypripedium elegans (E Nepal to China)
• Cypripedium fargesii (China)
• Cypripedium farreri (China)
• Cypripedium fasciculatum (Brownie Lady's-slipper, Clustered Lady's-slipper; W U.S.A)
• Cypripedium fasciolatum (China)
• Cypripedium flavum (Yellow Lady's-slipper; SE Tibet, SC China)
• Cypripedium formosanum (Formosa Lady's-Slipper; C Taiwan)
• Cypripedium forrestii (China)
• Cypripedium franchetii (Franchet's Lady's-slipper; C & SC China)
• Cypripedium froschii (China)
• Cypripedium guttatum (Spotted Lady's-Slipper; European Russia to Korea, Alaska to Yukon)
• Cypripedium henryi (Henry's Lady's-slipper; C China)
• Cypripedium x herae . (C.parviflorum x C.reginae) (Manitoba, Canada)
• Cypripedium himalaicum (SE Tibet to Himalaya)
• Cypripedium irapeanum (Pelican Orchid, Irapeao Lady's-slipper; Mexico to Honduras)
• Cypripedium japonicum (Japan Lady's-slipper; China, Korea, Japan)
• Cypripedium kentuckiense (Kentucky Lady's-Slipper, Southern Lady's-Slipper; C & E U.S.A)
• Cypripedium lentiginosum (China)
• Cypripedium lichiangense S.C.Chen & P.J.Cribb (China (SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan), NE Myanmar)
  • Cypripedium lichiangense var. daweishanense S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu (now synonym of Cypripedium daweishanense (S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu) S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu 2005)
• Cypripedium ludlowii (SE Tibet)
• Cypripedium macranthos (Large-flowered Lady's-slipper; E Belarus to temperate E Asia)
• Cypripedium malipoense S.C.Chen & Z.J.Liu (Yunnan, China South-Central)
• Cypripedium margaritaceum (Pearl-white Lady's-slipper; China)
• Cypripedium micranthum (China)
• Cypripedium molle (Mexico)
• Cypripedium montanum (Large Lady's-slipper, Mountain Lady's-slipper, White Lady's-slipper, Moccasin flower; Alaska to California)
• Cypripedium morinanthum (Manchuria)
• Cypripedium neoparviflorum (Manchuria)
• Cypripedium palangshanense (China)
• Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. (Canada, E U.S.A)
  • Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum (Canada, E U.S.A.)
  • Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (Yellow Lady's-slipper; N. America; rhizome geophyte)
• Cypripedium passerinum (Franklyn's Lady's-slipper, Small White Northern Lady's-slipper, Sparrow's Egg Lady's-slipper; Alaska to Canada, Montana)
• Cypripedium plectrochilum (N Myanmar to SC China)
• Cypripedium pubescens (Greater yellow lady's-slipper)
• Cypripedium reginae Walter : Large White Lady's-slipper, Queen's Lady's-slipper, Showy Lady's-slipper; C & E Canada, NC & E. U.S.A)
• Cypripedium roseum (Manchuria)
• Cypripedium rubronerve (China)
• Cypripedium segawai (EC Taiwan)
• Cypripedium shanxiense (China to N Japan)
• Cypripedium sichuanense (China)
• Cypripedium sinapoides (Manchuria)
• Cypripedium subtropicum (SE. Tibet)
• Cypripedium taibaiense (China)
• Cypripedium tibeticum (Sikkim to C China)
• Cypripedium × ventricosum (Russia to Korea)
• Cypripedium wardii (SE. Tibet, China)
• Cypripedium × wenqingiae (C. farreri × C. tibeticum; China)
• Cypripedium wumengense (China)
• Cypripedium yatabeanum (Russian Far East to N & NC Japan, Aleutian Islands to SW Alaska)
• Cypripedium yunnanense (SE Tibet, China)