Cypripedium irapeanum
| Cypripedium irapeanum | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cypripedioideae |
| Genus: | Cypripedium |
| Species: | C. irapeanum
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| Binomial name | |
| Cypripedium irapeanum Lex. (1825)
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| Synonyms | |
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Cypripedium irapeanum, known as Irapeao's cypripedium or pelican orchid, is a species of orchid found in Mexico and Central America in section irapeana.[1] It has a widespread distribution from the central Mexico states of Sinaloa and Durango south to Guatemala and Honduras.[2][3] They are found in mixed pine and oak forests on well-drained limestone slopes and in areas with volcanic and clay soil which are rich in metals. They can be found in some areas in groups of hundreds.[4] They bloom from early June to late July.
The plant is tall, 1 to 1.5 m, and is pubescent with clasping elliptic to lanceolate cauline leaves in a single stem. The showy yellow flowers are 12 cm and open from bottom to top in a raceme of one to eight flowers.[5] The balloon-shaped lip has a fine net pattern and an open bowl with an enrolled margin. There are purple-brown spots toward the rear of the bowl. They propagate both by rhizomes and from many minute seeds that are propelled from a capsule which erupts from the inferior ovary.[6]
Some people have reported a contact dermatitis after handling these plants, and they are extremely difficult to cultivate as they rely on a symbiotic fungus for nutrients.
References[edit]
- ^ Frosch, Werner; Cribb, Phillip (2013). Hardy Cypripedium: Species, Hybrids and Cultivation. Kew Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84246-464-9.
- ^ Cribb. 1993. The genus Cypripedium in Central America. Orquídea (Mexico City) 13(1–3): 205–214.
- ^ Breedlove, D.E. 1986. Flora de Chiapas. Listados Florísticos de México 4: i–v, 1–246.
- ^ "www.cypripedium.de/forum/messages/811.html". Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
- ^ The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia
- ^ Ames, O. & D. S. Correll. 1952. Orchids of Guatemala. Fieldiana, Botany 26(1): i–xiii, 1–395