Cypripedium californicum

Cypripedium californicum, the California Lady’s Slipper, is found only in northern California and southern Oregon and only in serpentine soils that have a high concentration of heavy metals. Where it grows it can be quite abundant and is often found with the carnivorous Cobra Lily, Darlingtonia californica and another orchid, Platanthera sparsiflora, the Few-flowered Bog Orchis. It is the tallest Lady’s Slipper in the USA, as tall as 120 cm (4 feet) and has more flowers than any of the others, as many as twenty per stem. It grows in wet areas and the flower color varies from brownish green to yellow-green. The lip is always white but can be pink around the opening of the lip, as evident in one of the photos.

Posted on March 6, 2024 04:47 PM by ronaldhanko