Any good recent treatments of the Genus Cypripedium?

[silence882]

I've been using Cribb's 1998 book on Cypripedium, but it's a bit dated. Does anyone know of any good recent treatments of the genus?

 

[JAB]

Sadly I do not.
Both Phrag's and Cyp's are in desperate need of an extensive overview! I am really surprised Phrag's have not been tackled as S. America seems more accessible than most of the Asian countries where Paph's are found.

 

[Rick]

Sadly I do not.
I am really surprised Phrag's have not been tackled as S. America seems more accessible than most of the Asian countries where Paph's are found.

Hard to say. It seems every time you turn around you here about a drug cartel or revolution going on somewhere. The info seems to come out piecemeal.

 

[naoki]

I haven't looked at any books in this series, but how about Genera Orchidacearum, Vol. 1? There is also
Frosch and Cribb's Hardy Cypripedium. I have this, bu this one is more of picture books than taxonomic treatments. I haven't looked at it for a while, but it does have distributional maps.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Naoki, as for Cyps, there isn't much out there beyond what you already know about. You could check out Die Orchideengattung, Cypripedium (2009) by Eccarius, but of course its all in German. It is well illustrated with photos of the the plants, the seeds, embryos, habitats, you name it, so may worth while to track a copy down. Many do not agree with the taxonomy he presents however. Nevertheless, it is a well crafted book and comprehensive. I cannot comment on the writing since I do not read German.

 

[Ozpaph]

Renziana might be of interest. https://orchid.unibas.ch/index.php/en/renziana

 

[Alessandro G.]

I've been using Cribb's 1998 book on Cypripedium, but it's a bit dated. Does anyone know of any good recent treatments of the genus?

I have seen only the 2003 Book by Cribb Hardy Cypripedium. However, some species seem to be missing. A recent phylogenetic study seems to have shed some light on the genus. However, one of the most important species C. debile, was missing from the material.

(The paper is Molecular phylogeny of Cypripedium (Orchidaceae:Cypripedioideae) inferred from multiple nuclear and chloroplast regions Zhong-Jian Liu et al. 2011)

Currently, I am working with Rome's Botanical Garden to create a living collection and perhaps extend this project to review some species' taxonomic status. Another great piece of work is The Genus Cypripedium in China. Here there are some pictures of never-seen-before species. However, from a taxonomy point of view, it creates more of a mess rather than clearing up the Chinese side of the genus.

 

[BrucherT]

Sadly I do not.
Both Phrag's and Cyp's are in desperate need of an extensive overview! I am really surprised Phrag's have not been tackled as S. America seems more accessible than most of the Asian countries where Paph's are found.

Re: South America: in recent years there has been a growing movement to prohibit “colonizers” from swooping in and defining native resources. I’m currently working to plan a small specimen-vouchering excursion in Mexico and we are treading very cautiously in terms of giving deference to Mexican scientists and institutions, though my org’s historical association/specimen accessions are with an internationally prominent natural history museum in the U.S. So I’m saying, the next prominent monograph on South American slippers can reasonably be expected to be produced in Spanish language by South American botanists, if they are interested and can get the funding.

 

[BrucherT]

I have seen only the 2003 Book by Cribb Hardy Cypripedium. However, some species seem to be missing. A recent phylogenetic study seems to have shed some light on the genus. However, one of the most important species C. debile, was missing from the material.

(The paper is Molecular phylogeny of Cypripedium (Orchidaceae:Cypripedioideae) inferred from multiple nuclear and chloroplast regions Zhong-Jian Liu et al. 2011)

Currently, I am working with Rome's Botanical Garden to create a living collection and perhaps extend this project to review some species' taxonomic status. Another great piece of work is The Genus Cypripedium in China. Here there are some pictures of never-seen-before species. However, from a taxonomy point of view, it creates more of a mess rather than clearing up the Chinese side of the genus.

Love to see your photos but alas, they do not seem to have attached.

 

[Alessandro G.]

Love to see your photos but alas, they do not seem to have attached.

Sorry I completely removed the idea of attaching the pictures when posting. Due to a recent loss, I find myself away from home. I'll be able to post some scans of the books as soon as I get back home!

You can check out the aforementioned publication from the following link.

 

[BrucherT]

Sorry I completely removed the idea of attaching the pictures when posting. Due to a recent loss, I find myself away from home. I'll be able to post some scans of the books as soon as I get back home!

You can check out the aforementioned publication from the following link.

So sorry for your loss. I hope you find comfort and peace. Thank you very much for the article.

 

[mormodes]

.

 

[Alessandro G.]

Love to see your photos but alas, they do not seem to have attached.

Sorry for the long wait. Here I attach the pages depicting the mysterious Cypripedium taibaiense. In this book Cypripedium singchii and subtropicum are treated as separate species, I do not believe that they are distinct though.

 

[ORG]

Just at present there is hardly any problem with the literature on the genus Phragmipedium. Rather on the genus Selenipedium. There are three well-founded publications on the genus Phragmipedium with a wealth of information, two of them in English and one in German. Some of them were prepared in collaboration with people from South America. As there was hardly any interest in these two genera for decades and only one major publication appeared in Orchid Digests in 1973 by Leslie Garay and then in 1993 - 1996 in Die Orchidee, interest increased with Phrag. besseae and so the three major works by Cribb, Braem and also by me then appeared in recent years.

Unfortunately, it has to be said about Zhon-jian Liu's book that it hardly became known in Europe and the USA. But it is still available in the trade.

It is no wonder that Cypridium sinchii is recognised in the book by Chen and Liu. Liu described it and named it in honour of his teacher Chen Sing-chi. It is subtropicum, no doubt about it.

 

[BrucherT]

Sorry for the long wait. Here I attach the pages depicting the mysterious Cypripedium taibaiense. In this book Cypripedium singchii and subtropicum are treated as separate species, I do not believe that they are distinct though.

Hmmmm…looks like a C. tibeticum variant to me. I think Wenqing sells it.

Thank you! Worth waiting for. I hope you are well.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I am no expert, but after seeing many hundreds of flowering plants of the C. tibeticum complex in Sichuan, one thing is certain: the situation on the ground is complex. Think hybrid swarm.

 

[abax]

Tom, there's hybrid swarm everywhere...Catts, Phrags, Paphs and Cyps, of course. Everybody and an old uncle
seems to think hybridizing is a fun hobby. Adds to the confusion.