# Cypripedium in Canada



## ORG (Jul 1, 2008)

Dear Slipperorchid-friends,
this year I had the possibility to visit a lot of orchids-habitats in Canada.
My travel started in Toronto and especially near the Huron-Lake we could see many _Cypripedium _plants in flower, but we found also near Toronto some very interesting plants like _Cypripedium candidum_ (here with an insect visiting the flower).












Then the wonderful _Cypripedium arietinum_











_Cypripedium pubescens_






_Cypripedium parviflorum_






And in a garden a _Cypripedium _from Asia
_Cypripedium henryi_











Later more.

Best greetings

Olaf


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## Heather (Jul 1, 2008)

What a fabulous plant, that aritaenum! One day I hope to see that one in person. Thank you Olaf!


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## NYEric (Jul 1, 2008)

Looks like a good trip. Thanx for posting!


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jul 1, 2008)

Wonderful Olaf! Thanks for posting your pictures. Did you take some in Alberta too?

Joanne


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## Wendy (Jul 1, 2008)

Beautiful photos Olaf! Is the Cypripedium arietinum one of the group from the Singing Sands in the Bruce Peninsula? I was there a few days before you and saw/took pictures as well. There were so many more this year. 

Thank you!


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## John M (Jul 1, 2008)

Nice photos Olaf. I'm sorry that I was unable to get to the meeting and meet you in person. It was nice that you got to see the Cyp. candidum. I live here and haven't ever seen one! In fact, I've never seen any arietinum either. That clone in your photo is spectacular! Thanks for posting!


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## Corbin (Jul 1, 2008)

Thanks for the pictures.


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## ORG (Jul 1, 2008)

Dear Wendy,
here some pictures from Manitoba and also Alberta.
At first _Cypripedium acaule_, I had the possibility to visit a place with hundreds of these spectacular plants.






























_Cypripedium candidum_















_Cypripedium parviflorum_ var. _makasin_
















_Cypripedium pubescens_






But also a habitat with many deformed plants





Later more

OLaf

Dear Wendy the first _Cyp. arietinum_ I saw on the same place where you saw them also- Hundreds of plants in flower.


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## fundulopanchax (Jul 1, 2008)

Outstanding photos, Olaf!!

Thank you very much for sharing!

Ron


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 1, 2008)

Sweet! I love habitat shots and these are some great ones. In particular I love the candidum shots.


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## John M (Jul 1, 2008)

I really like the second batch of photos that you've posted, Olaf. What is the difference between Cyp. parviflorum v. parviflorum and var. makasin? Thanks!


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## SlipperFan (Jul 1, 2008)

Thanks Olaf -- I didn't realize there were so many native to North America.


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## Heather (Jul 1, 2008)

Also wondering about makasin - that was on the property in VT I visited the other day as well. Others were asking the same question.

Oh, and WHAT COLOR! on those acaule!!! Is that accurate!?


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## cdub (Jul 2, 2008)

Heather said:


> Also wondering about makasin - that was on the property in VT I visited the other day as well. Others were asking the same question.
> 
> Oh, and WHAT COLOR! on those acaule!!! Is that accurate!?



Why no photos of the VT makasin, Heather!? Haha. 

Wow, that photo stream just made my day, Olaf.


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## NYEric (Jul 2, 2008)

Wow so many Cyps!


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## goldenrose (Jul 3, 2008)

:clap::clap: FABULOUS! So good of you to share!


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jul 3, 2008)

More wonderful photos! Thanks Olaf.

Joanne


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## ORG (Jul 3, 2008)

Dear Slipperorchid-friends,
I have also difficulties to explain the differences betwessn parviflorum and makasin.
Phillip Cribb wrote about that Sheviak (1994) has distinguished makasin from the typical varietyby its glabrous uppermost sheathing bract, intensely sweet scent and habitat preference. In open sites the leaves are characteristically narrow and ascending, but more spreading and broader in shady places. Var. makasin has a more northerly distribution than the typical variety, ranging from New England and adjacent Canada across the continent to the Rockies. In most localities but the last it has dark maroon sepals und petals rather than spotted or blotched ones.
Cribb wrote then: The distinctiveness of vars. parviflorum and makasin is, I believe, practically impossible in herbarium material, and Sheviak's photographic comparision of them is unconvincing.
So I think that I need more information about.

But here some more pictures from my trip to Canada:

_Cypripedium pubescens_ near Edmonton





Near golden form with some red points in the flower











_Cypripedium passerinum_ near Calgary in bud
















_Cypripedium _x _alaskanum _in a garden in Edmonton











_Calypso bulbosa_












_Platanthera hookeri_











_Amerorchis rotundifolia _











Later more

Olaf


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## ORG (Jul 3, 2008)

Here some more orchids which I saw in Canada

_Corallorhiza striata_
















_Corallorhiza trifida_
















_Coeloglossum viride_











I had hoped to find some more species, but it was too early this year.

Best greetings

Olaf


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## SlipperFan (Jul 3, 2008)

Super, Olaf! Thanks for sharing.


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## toddybear (Jul 3, 2008)

What a slide show!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 3, 2008)

Fantastic Olaf! I really love the golden pubescens - that plant should be propagated.

Regarding the taxonomic status of _C. parviflorum_, here is a short review of the accepted varieties according to one leading authority, Charles J. Sheviak, botanist at the New York State Museum. A direct quote from one of his articles:

_"The most widespread variety is var. pubescens, which occurs virtually throughout the range of the species. This is also the most variable variety. In the eastern deciduous forests the plants are large with large flowers, and similar plants occur in the north and west. Commonly the sepals and petals are rather pale with highly variable darker markings. From the Great Lakes northward and westward, however, the plant is much more variable, with a tremendous range of size and shape of flowers and floral parts. Small northern plants were described as variety planipetalum, because their small flowers commonly have mostly unspiralled petals. These plants are merely extreme forms of var. pubescens, and diverse populations of var. pubescens include a great range of forms. Many plants can be phenotypically manipulated by growing them under different conditions; cool conditions induce small growths bearing small flowers with flat petals. The point here is that many such plants will develop into larger var. pubescens in cultivation; var. planipetalum does not exist.

The other varieties of C. parviflorum have small flowers. In the forests of the eastern U.S. occurs var. parviflorum, often growing on rather high, drier slopes. The sepals and petals appear dark due to closely spaced, tiny spots. This plant is rather rare and not generally known in cultivation. The plant that is commonly known and cultivated as var. parviflorum is actually var. makasin. This is a more northern plant, occurring from the Great Lakes region northward into the taiga. It is typically a plant of calcareous fens, growing in open forests and openings. It also occurs in thickets in moist sands. The flowers bear uniformly dark sepals and petals, rather like C. calceolus. Typical plants of this variety are very rare west of central Canada; in the western mountains the variety seems to be represented by plants without the uniform dark sepals and petals."_

Dr. Sheviak has written exhaustive reviews on the _C. parviflorum_ complex in North America - the ones that stick out in my mind were written in the mid to late 90's and published in the AOS journal. Perfect specimens of each type are obvious, but many intermediate looking plants exist and really confound the naming process.

Tom


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## John M (Jul 3, 2008)

Thanks for the makasin explanation, Olaf. Your photos are wonderful!


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## Nic (Jul 4, 2008)

Superb!


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## ORG (Jul 7, 2008)

Dear Tom,
I hope also that this clone will be propagated.
On the other side we should documentate the variability of this species with pictures. Then we can imagine more and more how beautiful this species can be.

Best greetings

Olaf


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## biothanasis (Jul 8, 2008)

Fantastics shots Olaf...Thank you very much for sharing...


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## ORG (Jul 8, 2008)

Here some more pictures, but today some deformed clones.
_Cypripedium parviflorum_ var. _makasin _with small lip







_Cypripedium pubescens_ without lip






perhaps bitten by a deer






Deformed flowers 200 Km north of Winnipeg between a lot of deformed plants beside a railroad






Best greetings

Olaf


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## SlipperFan (Jul 9, 2008)

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with deformed flowers -- Mother Nature has some, also.


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## Kevin (Jul 12, 2008)

Thanks for the pics Olaf! I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Manitoba and across Canada. I really enjoyed your talk you gave in Winnipeg. Hope you can come back sometime!


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## musiclovertony (Dec 22, 2009)

They're all so beautiful! I love Calypso bulbosa!!!


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## Shiva (Dec 22, 2009)

Great pictures Olaf! Hope to see you in Quebec sometimes, if you haven't already done so.  :clap:


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