The Story of Cypripedium

Slipper orchids have got to be on the top ten list of the most fascinating plants in the world. They are so unique that some botanists believe that they should be separated into their own family. Besides that, intergenerically there is an astounding amount of variation; you can plainly see that in the slipper orchid photos I have posted on this blog so far this year, including Paphiopedilum insigne, Phragmipedium besseae, Phragmipedium Ecuabess, Paphiopedilum Maudiae (& other paphs), and Cypripedium parviflorum. Cypripediums are my favorites; Cypripedium acaule was what got me obsessed with botany while researching Prince Edward Island (a Canadian province whose floral emblem is C. acaule) for a Grade 6 school project. Within the so-called Slipper Alliance are five genera: Phragmipedium, Paphiopedilum, Selenipedium, Mexipedium and Cypripedium, which were once all classified under Cypripedium but were reclassified due to extreme variation. The name Cypripedium comes from Cyprus, another name for Venus, and the Greek pedilon (foot), referring to the shape of the inflated lip (pouch) of every species. The other names all mean basically the same thing, in a different context. The reasoning for the common name lady's slipper or mocassin-flower is obvious at first glance of any flower.

The very first slipper orchid ever discovered was Cypripedium calceolus of Europe (later also discovered in Asia). This beautiful orchid has handsome yellow pouches and maroon tepals (word for sepals and petals that are very similar). In later expeditions in North America, similar species were discovered which were given the same name; these are C. parviflorum varieties; the name was recently changed after the realization of many differences between the species and genetic proof that they are separate. The old name of these N. American natives, however, still sticks. Anyway, C. calceolus was discovered sometime between 1450 and 1500 (probably before then by the Asians); at this time a major "orchid craze" was erupting in Europe after the discovery of unusual but beautiful plants deemed "orchids" (from orchis, the Greek meaning testicles, referring to the arrangement of the ovaries) in Central and South America. European explorers, especially British, French, Italians, Dutch, and Germans, went on many major expeditions over the next 400 years, bringing back these plants for the growing market. many areas, especially the Amazon, were depleted of native orchid species, including Phragmipedium. When North America was settled, settlers quickly discovered the abundance of terrestrial orchids in that area, and picked them and transplanted them to their gardens. Most of these were Cypripediums, the showiest of terestrial orchids. Meanwhile in Europe, epiphytic (grow on trees) and some native terrestrial orchids were purchased for huge sums of money, only to die in the new owner's garden. The same happened the the orchids in North America. But smuggling continued, and with no way to propagate the plants, they quickly disappeared, many almost to extinction; in England, even today, only a single plant of C. calceolus remains. Today, however, scientists use artificial propagation to raise plants from seed and tissue culture, and orchids can be found for under $20 at your local Home Depot. With their bad reputation for being impossible to grow though, terrestrial orchids, mainly Cypripediums, are just beginning to gain poularity. With the protection of wild plants by law and the increased availability of nursery raised plants, Cyps are slowly recuperating.

Cyps are slow to establish in the garden, and one will quickly fall to the orchid fever when viewing wild plants. Having been there for who knows how long, wild cyps often display themselves in fantastic clumps or colonies with hundreds or thousands of flowers. Last year I had the great pleasure of visiting a local natural area, where yellow slippers are known to exist in amazing numbers. Another great thing I noticed while viewing them is their size, being very mature plants. If you buy a blooming plant at a local nursery, it is usually flowering for the first time, and flowers are small, with dull colors. A mature plant puts on a show a hundred times better. Cyp pubescens is the most common of all hardy orchids, both in the garden and on the market. I've seen these a hundred billion times, and yet, each time I do, my soul is captured. Many others share my feeling.