SafePlants

Lady's Slipper Orchid

Common and Scientific Names

• Scientific Name: Cypripedium calceolus
• Common Names: Lady's Slipper, Yellow Lady's-slipper, Woodpecker Nuksack, Lady's Slipper Orchid
• Other Common Names: Moccasin Flower, Pink Moccasin Flower, Stemless Lady's Slipper
• Showy Lady's Slipper: Cypripedium reginae also known as queen's lady slipper.
• Pink Lady's Slipper: Cypripedium acaule also known as Moccasin Flower, or Stemless Lady's Slipper

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)
• Synonyms for Pink Lady's Slipper: Cypripedium humile, Fissipes acaulis

Distribution and Habitat

• The Lady's Slipper Orchid was once widespread in areas like Westmorland and North Lancashire (UK), particularly on limestone formations.
• Pink lady's slipper (C. acaule) and yellow lady's slipper (C. calceolus) are found in temperate coniferous forests.

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

• Lady's Slipper Orchids can grow up to 30cm tall.
• They can take up to ten years to flower.
• Slipper orchids generally flower from November to March, but flowers can appear at any time of the year and last up to three months.
• Flowers may need support.
• The flowers are characterised by slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums). The pouch traps insects.
• The Lady's Slipper orchid has claret petals that frame a beautiful bright yellow pouch.
• Pink lady's-slipper produces a pink (occasionally white), 1 to 3 inch long pouch-like flower that grows singly on a stalk emerging from 2 broad, fuzzy leaves.
• The Greater Yellow Lady's-slipper has an irregular flower with a 1 to 2 inch yellow pouch and long twisted brownish petals.
• Description of one flower: Three narrow beetroot-colored and twisted sepals emerge at 120 degrees. A large creamy-yellow colored 'slipper' is suspended from the center-point.

Ecological Role

• The slipper-shaped pouch (modified labellum) of the flower traps insects.

Considerations for Pets

• Lady's Slipper orchids have a slipper-shaped pouch that traps insects, which may be a point of interest for curious pets.

Interactions with Other Organisms

• The pouch traps insects, forcing them to climb past reproductive structures, aiding in pollination.

Additional Information

• The Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) is the state flower of Minnesota, adopted in 1902, and protected by state law since 1925. It is illegal to pick or uproot this flower in Minnesota.
• The Lady's Slipper was adopted as the provincial flower on April 25, 1947.

Quirky Facts

• Certain orchid species bear roots that resemble paired testes, but in the pink lady's slipper, it is the flower that is reminiscent of this shape.
• Britain's last remaining lady's slipper orchid has been given 24-hour police protection from thieves.