Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (Small yellow lady’s slipper)

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Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight

Small yellow lady’s slipper, yellow lady’s slipper, greater yellow lady’s slipper

Yellow lady’s slippers, members of the orchid family, are native to North America, and may be native to Eurasia as well. It is not clear whether the Eurasian varieties are separate species. Because these species are highly variable, botanists also have a difficult time distinguishing among several varieties of North American yellow lady’s slippers.

Plants: Plants are 8–30″ (20–76 cm) high, but much smaller in exposed or cold conditions, or in calcium-bearing soil. There are one or two flowers on each stem.

Leaves: Leaves are 6–8″ (15–20 cm) long and 2½–3½″ (6.3–8.9 cm) wide, elliptical in shape, with roughly parallel veins.

Flowers: The slipper-like flower is called the lip, and is yellow, often with purple veins or red dots, 1–2″ (2.9–5.4 cm) long, larger than the other varieties of Cypripedium parviflorum. Three sepals extend from the base of the flower, usually twisted or wavy, greenish-yellow to purple-brown, each up to 3½″ (8.9 cm) long.

Fruits: An oblong-elliptic capsule containing numerous tiny seeds.

Habitats: Shady, damp forest understory of mixed deciduous and coniferous forests to open meadows and along streams in acidic soils.

Here are some yellow lady’s slippers. Some botanists believe Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum and C. parviflorum var. pubescens are the same species.

Online References:

Www.epicgardening.com

Wnmu.edu

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Minnesota Wildflowers

Flora of North America

Cypripedium calceolus L. var. pubescens (Willd.) Correll
Cypripedium calceolus L. var. planipetalum (Fernald) Vict. & J. Rousseau
Cypripedium furcatum Raf.
Cypripedium planipetalum (Fernald) Morris & Eames
Cypripedium pubescens Willd.
Cypripedium pubescens Willd. var. pubescens

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (48 × 34 cm)

5/21/2012 · Wild Gardens, Sieur de Monts, Acadia National Park, Maine · By Susan Cole Kelly

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Orchidaceae	Orchid family
Genus	Cypripedium	Latinization (albeit an incorrect one) of ancient Greek words meaning “Venus’ shoe”
Species	parviflorum	From the Greek parvus, “small,” and flora, “flower,” hence “small-flowered”
var.	pubescens	With soft, downy hair

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Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.