Yellow lady's slipper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cypripedium parviflorum
Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin Mackinac Island, Michigan
Scientific classification
Genus:	Cypripedium
Species:	parviflorum
Synonyms
Cypripedium luteum var. parviflorum (Salisb.) Raf. Criosanthes parviflora (Salisb.) Raf. Calceolus parviflorus (Salisb.) Nieuwl. Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum (Salisb.) Fernald Cypripedium hirsutum var. parviflorum (Salisb.) Rolfe Cypripedium bulbosum var. parviflorum (Salisb.) Farw. Cypripedium calceolus subsp. parviflorum (Salisb.) Hultén

Cypripedium parviflorum, commonly known as yellow lady's slipper or moccasin flower, is a lady's slipper orchid native to North America. It is widespread, ranging from Alaska south to Arizona and Georgia.

Taxonomy

C. parviflorum is a highly variable species, which is a result of both hybridization and phenotypic plasticity.

Four varieties are widely recognized. They are:

• C. parviflorum var. exiliens Sheviak – Alaska
• C. parviflorum var. makasin (Farwell) Sheviak – commonly called the "northern yellow lady's-slipper"; widely distributed over much of Canada and the northern United States
• C. parviflorum var. parviflorum – commonly called the "small yellow lady's-slipper"; southern part of the species range, from eastern Nebraska and eastern Oklahoma east to Virginia and New Hampshire
• C. parviflorum var. pubescens (Willdenow) O. W. Knight – commonly called the "large yellow lady's-slipper"; very widespread across much of United States, Canada, and St. Pierre & Miquelon; treated by many authors as a distinct species, Cypripedium pubescens

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  C. parviflorum var. parviflorum, showing pubescent bract and dark maroon sepals

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  C. parviflorum var. pubescens, showing yellow-green sepals spotted with maroon