A native North American lady's slipper orchid that grows in fens, wetlands, shorelines and damp woodlands, from Alaska south to Arizona and Georgia. It needs cool, moist, humus-rich conditions and does not transplant well, so it is best left in the wild or grown only from nursery-propagated stock.
Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Full sun
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, never waterlogged or dry.
Soil
Moist, humus-rich, slightly acidic to neutral soil such as woodland loam or bog-type mix.
Temperature
Hardy to cold winters; grows well in cool summers, protect from prolonged heat above about 30 °C.
How easy
Hard
Safety
Mildly toxic: Contact with the sap or hairy leaves and stems can cause skin irritation in some people; handling the plant is best avoided.
Native range
Subarctic America to U.S.A.
Climate
temperate
About
Cypripedium parviflorum, commonly known as yellow lady's slipper or moccasin flower, is a lady's slipper orchid native to North America. It is widespread, ranging from Alaska south to Arizona and Georgia. It grows in fens, wetlands, shorelines, and damp woodlands.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cypripedium parviflorum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.