Cypripedium montanum Douglas ex Lindl.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Alta., B.C.; Alaska, Calif., Idaho, Mont., Oreg., Wash., Wyo.

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Alaska to central California, east to Alberta and Wyoming.

Plants erect, 25–71 cm. Leaves 4–6, inserted toward base or scattered along stem, alternate, erect, ascending, or spreading; blade suborbiculate or broadly ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 3.3–17 × 2.5–9.5 cm. Flowers 1–3; sepals greenish, suffused, often heavily, with reddish brown or madder, or rarely clear green; dorsal sepal lance-acuminate to elliptic-lance-acuminate, 33–60 × 8–16 mm; lateral sepals connate; synsepal 30–60 × 6–18 mm; petals spreading-deflexed, same color as sepals, spirally twisted, linear to linear-lanceolate, 36–77 × 3–5 mm; lip white, rarely suffused with magenta, obovoid or oblance-ovoid to oblance-fusiform, 19–33 mm; orifice basal, 13–22 mm; staminode lanceoloid to broadly ovoid or ellipsoid-ovoid.

Mesic to dry (rarely wet) coniferous, deciduous, and broadleaf evergreen forests, openings, and thickets, around shrubs on open slopes; 0--2400m.

Comments: Moist open woods and alpine meadows.

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: > 300

Comments: Common to occasional in appropriate habitat. Described as "infrequent in and east of the Coast-Cascade Mountain [in British Columbia], rare northwards" (Douglas et al. 2001). An estimate of occurrences in eastern Oregon is approximately 200 (pers. comm. J. Kagan 2001), and another 100 in western Oregon (pers. comm. Vrilakas 2002). From the ISMS data set, it is estimated to have 60 occurrences in northern California and 50 in western Washington (ISMS 2002). The state of California does not keep track of occurrences.

Flowering Feb--Sep.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


No available public DNA sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Reasons: Occasional in western North America, with thousands of occurrences, but many of those with few plants. Occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from full sun on eastern mountain slopes to full shade in moist wooded valleys (Luer 1975). Threatened by habitat loss or alteration. The main concern for this species is that present-day botanists are observing and hearing anecdotal accounts of population loss. Although populations are known to be declining significantly, there are still abundant enough numbers of plants and populations.

Environmental Specificity: Broad. Generalist or community with all key requirements common.

Global Short Term Trend: Decline of 10-30%

Global Long Term Trend: Decline of 50-70%

Comments: This species is reportedly declining slowly due to fire suppression and perhaps also due to harvesting of wildplants (pers. comm. J. Kagan, December 2002). Seevers and Lang (1998) mention examples of severe damage to populations on logged areas in Oregon and California. In Alberta, where C. montanum is only found in the southwestern part of the province, estimated overall population decline is 20 percent over the past 10 years (Ksenija Vujnovic, pers. comm.,2002).

Comments: Habitat loss, such as logging, fire suppression, and harvesting of wild plants threaten this species (pers. comm. J. Kagan, December 2001). Grazing has also been cited as a threat (Fertig 2000, Ksenija Vujnovic, pers. comm., 2002). Other threats include park and campground maintenance, road construction, and herbicide spraying (Washington Natural Heritage Program 1981). In addition, disturbances caused by the collection of other species such as mushrooms or medicinal plants may damage habitat (Seevers and Lang 1998). Cypripedium montanum is advertised by several distributors as available laboratory-propagated. Fire supression may be the largest threat to the many popluations located in developed/developing areas.

Biological Research Needs: General ecological requirements of Cypripedium montanum, such as dependence upon fire and mycorrhizal symbionts remain unknown (Seevers and Lang 1998).

Plants of Cypripedium montanum grown in exposed, relatively sunny situations have the ascending leaves inserted along the basal portion of the stem and the flowers displayed well above the leaves. In shadier, especially sheltered sites, the spreading leaves may be more evenly scattered along the stem. In this species the apical margin of the orifice of the lip is usually acute, in common with C. candidum, and in contrast to the usually obtuse margin in C. parviflorum; this difference can aid determination of discolored herbarium specimens. Hybrids of C. montanum and C. parviflorum have been designated C. × columbianum Sheviak. See 11. C. parviflorum for a general discussion of hybridization and variation within and between related species.