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Kentucky Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium kentuckiense C. F. Reed

Comments

provided by eFloras
The brief nomenclatural history of Cypripedium kentuckiense is remarkably confused. The plant was originally described, without Latin diagnosis, as C. daultonii Soukup; this nomen nudum came into general usage prior to Reed’s publication. Subsequently, an earlier name, C. furcatum Rafinesque, was proposed as conspecific, but Rafinesque’s description is not adequate for a positive determination.

Cypripedium kentuckiense is very distinctive. In addition to the very large flowers and pale coloring of the lip, the form of the orifice is unique. In related species the orifice is a restricted opening in the adaxial surface of the lip; in C. kentuckiense the orifice replaces the basal portion of the adaxial surface, the sides of the lip terminating abruptly at the orifice without curving toward the horizontal. In herbarium specimens this detail is obscured, but the cavernous nature of the orifice is emphasized by the adaxial surface descending from the apical margin of the orifice toward the apex of the lip; the obovoid lip appears to hang from the margin of the orifice, and the lip is not particularly slipper-shaped. In contrast, in related species, the adaxial surface of the lip surrounds the orifice and extends forward toward the apex, forming a more convincing slipper. These distinctions hold virtually throughout the known populations of C. kentuckiense; only in two Arkansas populations is the lip form suggestive of related species. The Arkansas populations may reflect very limited introgression from C. parviflorum var. pubescens.

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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 26: 500, 502, 506, 507 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
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Description

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Plants erect, 35–97 cm. Leaves 3–6, rather evenly spaced along stem, alternate, spreading; blade broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate or ovate-elliptic, 13–24 × 4.3–15 cm. Flowers 1–2; sepals greenish or yellowish, heavily spotted, striped, reticulately marked with dark reddish brown or madder; dorsal sepal broadly ovate to ovate and elliptic, 61–126 × 24–65 mm; lateral sepals connate; synsepal 55–103 × 12–40 mm; petals spreading-deflexed, same color as sepals, spirally twisted, linear, 84–156 × 7–15 mm; lip ivory to pale yellow, obovoid, (41–)53–65 mm; orifice basal, 27–37 mm; staminode broadly ovoid, ovoid-cordiform, or ovoid-deltoid.
license
cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 26: 500, 502, 506, 507 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
project
eFloras.org
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eFloras

Distribution

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Ala., Ark., Ga., Ky., La., Miss., Okla., Tenn., Tex., Va.
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 26: 500, 502, 506, 507 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
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eFloras.org
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eFloras

Flowering/Fruiting

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Flowering Apr--Jun.
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 26: 500, 502, 506, 507 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
project
eFloras.org
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eFloras

Habitat

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Rich, mesic to dry, deciduous forests on well-drained alluvium and bases of slopes, mucky seeps; mostly 0--400m.
license
cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 26: 500, 502, 506, 507 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
project
eFloras.org
original
visit source
partner site
eFloras

Cypripedium kentuckiense

provided by wikipedia EN

Cypripedium kentuckiense, the Kentucky lady's slipper or southern lady's slipper, is a member of the orchid genus Cypripedium. Members of this genus are commonly referred to as lady's slipper orchids.

Originally thought to be an aberrant form of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, the morphology of C. kentuckiense suggests it is a species of its own. However, molecular evidence suggests that C. kentuckiense is more closely related to Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum than it is to Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens.

Description

C. kentuckiense has the largest flower of in the genus Cypripedium. The petals and sepals are greenish striped and mottled with purple while the very large lip, or pouch, is a creamy ivory or pale yellow. The plant can be up to 70 cm tall and has bract leaf-like leaves that are up to 12 cm long. Each plant is usually single-flowered.

Distribution and habitat

Cypripedium kentuckiense is found in a large swathe through the central portion of the United States including Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Additionally, there is a small patch in Lancaster County, Virginia.[3][4][5] However, the range of this species is not continuous; it mostly consists of relatively isolated patches. It is most often found in deep ravines on acidic and sandstone soils.

References

  1. ^ Cypripedium kentuckiense NatureServe
  2. ^ Allen, C.M. 2004. A quantitative study of the vegetation surrounding yellow lady-slipper orchid (Cypripedium kentuckiense, Orchidaceae) populations at Fort Polk in west central Louisiana. Sida: 409-417.
  3. ^ "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program, county distribution map
  5. ^ Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, Cypripedium kentuckiense C.F.Reed
  • Phillip Cribb & Peter Green (1997). The Genus Cypripedium (a botanical monograph). Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Timber Press ISBN 0-88192-403-2
  • Case, M.A, H.T. Mlodozeniec, L.E. Wallace, and T.W. Weldy. 1998. Conservation genetics and taxonomic status of the rare Kentucky Lady's Slipper: Cypripedium kentuckiense (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany, vol. 85, num. 12: 1779-1786
Wikispecies has information related to Cypripedium kentuckiense.
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Cypripedium kentuckiense: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Cypripedium kentuckiense, the Kentucky lady's slipper or southern lady's slipper, is a member of the orchid genus Cypripedium. Members of this genus are commonly referred to as lady's slipper orchids.

Originally thought to be an aberrant form of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, the morphology of C. kentuckiense suggests it is a species of its own. However, molecular evidence suggests that C. kentuckiense is more closely related to Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum than it is to Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens.

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