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iNat·211065SubfamilyPlantae138,755 field observations
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Slipper Orchids
Plate 1 of 10. (c) Morgan Stickrod, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Morgan Stickrod · via iNaturalist

Slipper Orchids

Cypripedioideae

Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium. They are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches (modified labella) of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower. There are approximately 165 species in the subfamily.

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5 branches of this subfamily, most-observed first

Hardy slipper orchids

genusCypripedium

Asian Slipper Orchids

genusPaphiopedilum

Neotropical Slipper Orchids

genusPhragmipedium

Selenipedium

genusSelenipedium

Mexipedium

genusMexipedium

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Cypripedioideae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 211065.