Cypripedium acaule

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:ORCHIDACEAE
Species:Cypripedium acaule Aiton
Common Name:Pink Lady's Slipper; Pink Moccasin Flower
Habitat:Acidic forest.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:Pink Lady's Slipper is a native herbaceous perennial in the Orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to northeastern Alabama. Pink Lady's Slipper occurs in dry to wet hardwood or mixed pine-hardwood forests. It is a perennial with thick fibrous roots and a short rhizome. Only two basal leaves are produced. The leaves are elliptic to ovate in outline, ribbed, entire, and slightly glandular pubescent. Flowers are resupinate and solitary on a leafless glandular scape. A floral bract arches over the flower. The flowers have 3 greenish or brownish sepals, 2 of which are united behind the lip and the third is erect. Two twisted brownish or greenish petals extend to either side of the lip. The third petal forms an inflated lip. The lip is pink or white in color with darker veins. Pink Lady's Slipper is pollinated by bees that enter the lip through a longitudinal slit. Once inside the bees are guided by hairs towards exit openings located below masses of pollen. The bee passes under the stigma on the way to the exit and if it bears any pollen from a visit to another flower it is removed. The bee receives no reward for visiting the flower. Pink Lady's Slipper is listed as a S3 species in Alabama (typically 21 to 100 occurrences, limited acreage, or miles of stream in the state), and Globally as a G5 species (demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery). Pink Lady's Slipper are available from some nurseries. Like most native orchids they are difficult to grow. They require a mutualistic relationship with fungi in the genus Rhizoctonia. Only purchase plants from nurseries that do not collect plants from the wild.—A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACW (NWI), S3 (State Rank), G5 (Global Rank)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyORCHIDACEAE - Orchid family
Genus Cypripedium
Species Cypripedium acaule Aiton - Pink Lady's Slipper; Pink Moccasin Flower

Citation

Citation Cypripedium acaule Aiton, Hort. Kew. 3: 303. 1789.
Basionym: **
Type: **

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Fissipes acaulis  Cypripedium acaule Aiton, Hort. Kew. 3: 303. 1789. 

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Blount, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Jackson, Lawrence, Madison

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, JSU, SAMF, TROY, UNA, UNAF, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1966 - 1981

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AMAL00012780 Blount 20 Apr 2002 Keener, Brian R.
1986		 AMAL
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
UNA00064837 Blount 20 Apr 2002 Keener, Brian R.
1986		 UNA
Cypripedium acaule Ait.
AUA_ACC_67479 Blount 20 Apr 2002 KEENER, BRIAN R.
1986		 AUA
CYPRIPEDIUM ACAULE AIT.
SAMF0000730 Blount 20 Apr 2002 Keener, Brian R.
1986		 SAMF
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
TROY000026560 Blount 20 Apr 2002 Keener, Brian R.
1986		 TROY
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
UWAL0005023 Blount 20 Apr 2002 Keener, Brian R.
1986		 UWAL
Cypripedium acaule Ait.
JSU113459 Cherokee 6 May 1983 Whetstone, R. David
13086		 JSU
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
JSU113460 Cherokee 6 May 1983 Nixon, Christopher F.
95		 JSU
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
JSU113458 Cherokee 7 May 1983 De Fiori, Cecilia M.
003		 JSU
Cypripedium acaule Aiton
ALNHS00003809 Cherokee 5 May 2016 Barger, T. Wayne
DLR-87		 ALNHS
Cypripedium acaule Ait.
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