Cypripedium arietinum

Cypripedium arietinum

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Cypripedioideae
Genus: Cypripedium
Species:
C. arietinum
Binomial name
Cypripedium arietinum
R.Br. (1813)
Synonyms
  • Criosanthes arietina (R. Br.) House (1905)
  • Criosanthes borealis Raf. (1818)
  • Arietinum americanum L.C. Beck (1833)
  • Cypripedium arietinum f. biflorum P.M.Br. (1995)

Cypripedium arietinum, the ram's head lady's slipper,[2] is a rare terrestrial orchid that grows in lightly to heavily shaded areas with calcareous soils. It is characteristic of the alvars around the Great Lakes in North America].[2][3] In Canada, it is found from Quebec to Saskatchewan, plus an isolated population in Nova Scotia, where it grows on gypsum based soils, 330 km away from the nearest population in Maine.[4][5]

Cypripedium arietinum plants in the wild
  1. ^ Ames, D., P. B. Acheson, L. Heshka, B. Joyce, J. Neufeld, R. Reeves, E. Reimer, and I. Ward. 2005. Orchids of Manitoba: A field guide. Native Orchid Conservation Inc., Winnipeg.
  2. ^ a b USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Cypripedium arietinum​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. ^ Catling, P.M.; Brownell, V.R. (1999). "Alvars of the Great Lakes Region". In Anderson, R. C.; Fralish, J. S.; Baskin, J. M. (eds.). Savannas, Barrens and Rock Outcrop Communities of North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 375–391. ISBN 9780511574627.
  4. ^ Blaney, S.; Mazerolle, D. (2007). Nova Scotia Provincial Status Report on Ram's-Head Lady Slipper (Cypripredium arietinum R. Br.). Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.
  5. ^ "Cypripedium arietinum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.