2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Cypripedium, or Venus slipper (lat. Cypripedium) - a genus of herbaceous perennial plants, ranked by botanists in the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). Unlike most of its relatives in the Orchid family, the Lady's slipper prefers to live on the ground, rather than hanging its roots along the trunks and branches of trees, as epiphytic orchid species do. This allowed the plants of the genus not to be "tied" only to the tropical zones of the planet, but to be located in European lands, as well as in the Siberian expanses and in the Far East of our country. And although he is not found there so often, he manages to create large natural plantations.
What's in your name
The Latin name of the genus "Cypripedium" very mysteriously intertwined ancient Greek words in which both "Kypris" (Cypriot) and "pedilon" (shoes) are read, as well as myths about Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus, goddesses of beauty, which in the end resulted in such a romantic name - "Lady's slipper".
Description
Since orchids of the genus Cypripedium live on the ground, they, like other terrestrial orchids, have acquired a short and strong rhizome located in the uppermost layer of the soil, and thin roots extending into the depths. At one end of the rhizome, a fresh bud is born annually, while the other end dies off. The life of such a rhizome can last more than 20 years.
In most species of this genus, from a new bud, a vertical elongated stem appears on the surface of the earth, which does not have a pseudobulb, along which leaves grow, gently embracing it. The leaf plate has an oval-lanceolate shape with a sharp end and longitudinal veins, giving the surface of the leaf a dented appearance. Leaves are often pubescent. The appearance of the leaves is reminiscent of Plantain leaves.
The racemose inflorescence can bear from one to twelve fragrant flowers, but more often the number of flowers varies from one to three. There are three sepals at the base of each flower. The flower has three sharp petals and a dull, bright saccular lip. If the sepals and sharp petals are often the same color, then the lip will usually stand out with a brighter color. The appearance of the lip in different species of the genus can differ significantly from each other. A variety of petals in the form of a specific lip in orchids was created by nature to attract pollinators.
Varieties
The genus "Cypripedium" has 58 plant species in its ranks, many of which are represented by nature in most of the Northern Hemisphere. Frost-resistant orchid species withstand the Siberian cold and frost of the Alaska Peninsula, managing to survive under the snow, in order to surprise and delight the world with their flowering, as soon as the snow cover melts.
Some species of the genus grow successfully in the tropics of Honduras and Myanmar. Such a broad soul belongs to the Cypripedium genus.
Several species of the genus:
* Real slipper (lat. Cypripedium calceolus), or ordinary lady's slipper
* Ram-headed slipper (lat. Cypripedium arietinum)
* Californian slipper (lat. Cypripedium californicum)
* Snow-white slipper (lat. Cypripedium candidum)
* Heart-bearing slipper (lat. Cypripedium cordigerum)
* Slipper weak (lat. Cypripedium debile)
* Mountain slipper (lat. Cypripedium montanum)
* Small-flowered slipper (lat. Cypripedium parviflorum)
* Spotted slipper (Latin Cypripedium guttatum).
Unfortunately, the number of orchids of this genus is becoming less and less, and therefore they need human protection.
Usage
Of the numerous natural species of the genus "Cypripedium", no more than fifteen species of orchids are grown in culture.
In the Far East, there are cases of using plants of the genus for medicinal purposes 2500 years before the present day.
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