Cypripedium parviflorum variety pubescens. Synonym: Cypripedium calceolus. (Lady's Slipper Orchid).
Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)

Blooming information withheld to protect the plants.

These lovely, dainty plants grow singly or in clusters and scatter themselves widely over areas that they find habitable.  As the photograph at left shows, the plants are short and are often buried in grasses and other greenery; finding them is difficult -- unless their large, bright, lustrous flowers are open.  The exotic looking flowers are so very sweet smelling.

These Colorado rare and endangered plants are a delight to find, and, of course, if you ever do find them, take your pleasure only in photographing them and sitting and admiring them.  To try to transplant them is to doom them to extinction.  And sad to say, to tell friends the location of these rare plants is also to doom the plants to extinction.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 and considered it an Orchid. In 1789 the Orchid Family was named by Antoine Jussieu elevating Linnaeus' genus "Orchis" to the name of the family. Linnaeus used the Greek word "Orchis", meaning "testicle" because of the shape of the roots.

William Weber, following Hulten's 1968 work, maintains that on the basis of floral structures, these plants should not be classified as Orchids and he places them in Cypripediaceae (the Lady's Slipper Family).  Synthesis of the North American Flora, the USDA Plants Data Base, Intermountain Flora, A Utah Flora, the Flora of North America, etc. continue to place this plant in the Orchid Family.

"Cypripedium" is Greek for "Venus' foot" and "calceolus" is Latin for "little shoe".  "Parviflorum" is Latin for "small flower".

For more photographs and descriptive information click for Scotty Smith's widely acclaimed "Orchids of Colorado"..

Cypripedium parviflorum variety pubescens. Synonym: Cypripedium calceolus. (Lady's Slipper Orchid).
Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) 

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Cypripedium parviflorum variety pubescens