Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cypripedium acaule
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Cypripedium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Jim Fowler recorded the growth of one plant in a series of photographs taken one week apart. You can see them here: A short story of Cypripedium acaule (Pink Lady’s-slipper orchid) in an upstate South Carolina Heritage Preserve
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cypripedium acaule
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cypripedium acaule
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Cypripedium acaule
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-01-001:
Cypripedium acaule FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Fissipes acaulis
COMMON NAME:
Pink Lady's Slipper, Mocassin Flower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_cyac3_009_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_fiac_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_244
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm110417_951
April Cleburne County AL
Mount Cheaha
)
JK Marlow jkm120403_425
April Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
Fruits are ellipsoid capsules 1.0-1.75" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120403_429
April Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_732
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_404
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk2294_a
May Transylvania County NC
Cypripedium acaule forma albiflorum (the rare white form).
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk426_b
May
To pollinate, insects enter thru a small vertical slit in the lip front, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Wesley Burnett gwb070506_0469
May Gaston County NC
Redlair Farms
The inflated lower petal forms a moccasin-like pouch 1.5-2" long, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.
)
Bill Sharpton gws_pinkladysslipper
May Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
Stately pink flower with curled brown sepals at the top of a leafless stalk, per Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962).
)
JK Marlow jkm0405o_18
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Our only Lady's Slipper without stem leaves, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm110507_274
May Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Floral bract somewhat arched above flower, lanceolate, 4-5cm long, acuminate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_345
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
Seedling?
)
JK Marlow jkm210523_0723
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_acaule_73425
May NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Kevin Adams kcacypripediumacaule_36
May NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk426_a
May?
)
Wesley Burnett gwb_00876
June Washington County ME
Cypripedium acaule forma albiflorum
)
Wesley Burnett gwb_00878
June Washington County ME
The rare white form of pink lady’s slipper.
)
JK Marlow jkm090711_013
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Two large, strongly ribbed, basal leaves, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cypripedium_acaule_c
July Floyd County GA
The Pocket Recreation Area
)
JK Marlow jkm180825_4145
August Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm180825_4146
August Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm220926_9994
September Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7697
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cypripedium acaule
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cypripedium acaule
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cypripedium acaule
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Cypripedium acaule
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-01-001:
Cypripedium acaule
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Fissipes acaulis
426
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Dry to mesic, acid forests and woodlands, often under pine, other conifers, and/or oaks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Piedmont of GA & SC) (rare in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pink/White
Bisexual
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p056
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p166
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p022
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p115
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p331
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p174
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p045
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p399
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p048
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p392
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p450
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p357
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p021
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p225