Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum

[Paphluvr]

I've been watching a nice patch of these Cyps. growing no more than 30' off of a well traveled thoroughfare here in the Michigan thumb area for three years now. They are particularly small but well colored.

Cyp. calceolus was the first wild orchid species I found here in Michigan and is still one of my favorites. I've now found and photographed over 20 species.

Sorry for the blades of grass in the foreground of the second photo.

[Roly0217]

Hello and That's a beautiful species and our logo. They look happy and healthy. Too bad I can't grow them here. Please do post more pictures.

[Tindomul]

Thats a real beauty! Thanks for sharing.

[PaphMadMan]

Lovely. Do the flowers of this plant have a scent? Have you ever seen it with seed pods? I hope it continues to thrive and isn't taken by a collector. Thanks for sharing.

Cyp calceolus is usually treated as a Eurasian only species now, with the North American yellow Cyps mostly considered forms of Cyp parviflorum, or sometimes Cyp pubescens treated on its own.

[RosieC]

Great picture. I love cyps and especially seeing pics of them growing wild.

[Paphluvr]

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

Lovely. Do the flowers of this plant have a scent? Have you ever seen it with seed pods? I hope it continues to thrive and isn't taken by a collector. Thanks for sharing.

Cyp calceolus is usually treated as a Eurasian only species now, with the North American yellow Cyps mostly considered forms of Cyp parviflorum, or sometimes Cyp pubescens treated on its own.

Hope I'm doing this reply correctly. No, these flowers do not have a scent. I have seen pods on them, but they have a tendency to get mowed because they're so close to the highway. I would think that you should have these growing in your area.

[Paphluvr]

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

Lovely. Do the flowers of this plant have a scent? Have you ever seen it with seed pods? I hope it continues to thrive and isn't taken by a collector. Thanks for sharing.

Cyp calceolus is usually treated as a Eurasian only species now, with the North American yellow Cyps mostly considered forms of Cyp parviflorum, or sometimes Cyp pubescens treated on its own.

See new post below. I'm still learning how to use this site, sorry.

[PaphMadMan]

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

Hope I'm doing this reply correctly. No, these flowers do not have a scent. I have seen pods on them, but they have a tendency to get mowed because they're so close to the highway. I would think that you should have these growing in your area.

Yes, both Cyp parviflorum and Cyp pubescens occur in my area. I have seen conflicting information about scent in these 2 species so I was curious about that. If you had not seen seedpods I was going to encourage you to do some pollination by hand and scatter seeds in other suitable areas.

[prem]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

---Prem

[Strat Guy]

Man, if they get mowed frequently you should get a hold of the forestry department and see if you can get a permit to lift them and either transplant them or take em home. Better than seeing them disappear from a mower.