Cypripedium parviflorum

Cypripedium parviflorum, the Yellow Lady’s Slipper, becomes more common as one moves further north. It is very rare in California, Oregon and Washington and very common in northern British Columbia. We have seen it there by the thousands. It is variable in height. The plants growing in strong sunlight are less than 30 cm (1 foot) and those in more shaded areas reaching 60 cm (2 feet). The lip is usually an intense yellow and the petals and sepals can be a very dark mahogany or a paler green more or less marked with mahogany. This species almost always has a single flower but occasionally has two or three. This species has three named varieties, var. pubescens, var. makasin and var. exiliens. The flowers of the variety makasin are very tiny, the sepals and petals usually very dark in color, and the flowers have a very strong scent. The chief difference, however, is the hairiness of the bract behind the flower, very hairy in var. pubescens and almost smooth in var. makasin. The two varieties are very difficult to distinguish in the wild, however, and most do not even try to distinguish them.

Posted on March 6, 2024 04:18 PM by ronaldhanko