Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight

Locations ofCypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Orchidaceae
Botanical Name
Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight
Common Name
Large Yellow Lady's-slipper
Synonym(s)
Cypripedium calceolus L. var. pubescens (Willd.) Correll; Cypripedium pubescens Willd.
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight
Comments
Variation within Cypripedium parviflorum (particularly in flower size) has made differentiation of subspecific taxa difficult and controversial. Most of our material is the typical large-flowered plant called var. pubescens. Strikingly small-flowered plants with more uniformly darkened sepals and lateral petals also occur in Virginia, mostly at higher elevations of the northern Blue Ridge (see last photo to the right). These extreme plants may be assignable to C. parviflorum var. parviflorum, but considerable overlap in flower size between the two varieties confounds their recognition. Further study is needed.
Habitat
Primarily in rich, mesic forests, but occasionally in base-rich soils of dry forests and woodlands. Infrequent but widespread in the mountains and Piedmont; in the Coastal Plain, it is rare and mostly restricted to calcareous, shell-rich slopes and hummocks of calcareous seepage swamps.
Native Status
Native

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