Tuesday 18 June
Slipper orchid (Cypripedium lentiginosum)
Slipper orchid fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Slipper orchid description
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Orchidales |
| Family | Orchidaceae |
| Genus | Cypripedium (1) |
This slipper orchid was only discovered as recently as 1998 on an expedition to China (2). It is a striking terrestrial herb with large oblong leaves, which are found lying along the ground; they are a glossy dark green colour, distinctly spotted with black (2). This orchid bears large creamy white flowers atop a single flower stalk (or inflorescence). The petals curve inwards and both these and the lip are heavily marked with maroon spots (2).
More »
Top
Related species
Slipper orchid biology
Very little is known about this newly discovered orchid, new leafy shoots were observed to be emerging in early May with flowering taking place later in the same month (2). This species occurs further south than any other member of the genus (2).
TopSlipper orchid range
In the wild this species is known only from the southeast of the province of Yunnan, in southern China (2). Several plants have also been grown in cultivation (2).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Slipper orchid habitat
When discovered, Cypripedium lentiginosum was found growing on a mountainside at between 2150 and 2190 metres above sea level, associated with scrub and open woodland habitat (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Slipper orchid status
Listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
TopSlipper orchid threats
This orchid is widely available commercially in Japan, Taiwan and Europe (2).
TopSlipper orchid conservation
Further research is needed to investigate the range of this newly described species in the wild, especially whether it occurs in neighbouring Vietnam (2).
TopFind out more
For further information on the conservation of orchids see:
- Orchid Conservation International:
www.orchidconservation.org - Orchid Conservation Coalition:
www.orchidconservationcoalition.org
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopGlossary
- Genus
- A category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.
- Herb
- A small, non-woody, seed bearing plant in which all the aerial parts die back at the end of each growing season.
- Inflorescence
- A group of flowers on a single stem. (See http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ksheets/pdfs/flower.pdf for a fact sheet on flower structure)
References
- IUCN Red List (January, 2003)
http://www.redlist.org - Cribb, P. (1999) A new species of Cypripedium from southeast Yunnan. Quart. Bull. Alp. Gard. Soc., 67(2): 155 - 158.
- CITES (February, 2003)
http://www.cites.org
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Saturday 15 June
Saturday 15 June
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Slipper orchid Cypripedium lentiginosum in habitat
© Phillip J. Cribb / Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 332 5000
Fax: +44 (0) 208 332 5197
info@kew.org
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.