Cypripedium montanum
Mountain Lady's Slipper ( Cypripedium montanum )
The mountain lady's slipper ( Cypripedium montanum ) is a species of the genus Cypripedium in the orchid family ( Orchidaceae).
Features
The mountain lady's slipper is a perennial plant with a rhizome, which reaches heights of growth of 25 to 70 centimeters. The stem bears four to six leaves. These are variably shaped: almost round, elliptical, ovate to broadly lanceolate. On sunny locations the leaves sit crowded in the lower part of the stem and point upwards, in sheltered places they are distributed over the stem and splayed laterally. The length is 4 to 17 inches, the width of 3-8 inches. There are usually one or two, rarely three flowers available. The outer and inner tepals are running strong reddish brown on a green background, rarely pure green. The outer tepals are much longer than the lip. The upper outer perianth is 3 to 6.5 inches long. The inner tepals are rotated 4.5 to 7 inches long with only 3 to 5 millimeters wide. The lip is white, the opening measures 13 to 22 mm and construction for all pointed. The Staminodium is rhombic to broadly oval.
The flowering time varies in the large, to California ranging from Alaska area from February to September.
Occurrence
The mountain woman shoe comes in warm to cool western North America moist to dry, rarely sparse in moist woods, swamps, oak thickets and on subalpine slopes at altitudes up to 2400 meters in front.
Use
The mountain lady's slipper is often used as an ornamental plant for groups of trees.
Documents
- Eckhart J. Hunter, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd Müller, K. (ed.): Rothmaler Exkursionsflora of Germany. Volume 5: Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8.
- Charles J. Sheviak: Cypripedium. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee ( eds.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. 26, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford 1993 , p 504 ( eFloras.org, accessed on 20/01/2009 ).