E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Cypripedium passerinum Richardson
sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper (northern lady's-slipper)
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Cypripedium passerinum
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from slender rhizomes, with coarse, fibrous roots; stems 10-35 cm tall, long-soft-hairy, leafy.

Leaves:
Stem leaves 3 to 5, broadly lanceolate to elliptic, 5-16 cm long, sticky-hairy, ribbed, the base sheathing.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 to 3 small, terminal flowers; lateral sepals green, 1-1.5 cm long, free almost to base; lateral petals white, broadly linear to oblong, about length of lip; lip balloon-like, egg-shaped, 1.5-2 cm long, white, faintly purple-spotted on inside.

Fruits:
Capsules, erect, ellipsoid, 2-3 cm long, hairy.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist forests, swamps, river terraces, edges of lakes and streams, and talus slopes in the montane and subalpine zones; infrequent in N and E BC, rare in SC BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and S to MT.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Cypripedium passerinum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	690	942	1251
Slope Gradient (%)	0	0	3
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	0	0	180
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	3	5	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	10
Modal BEC Zone Class	BWBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BWBS(5), ICH(1), IDF(1), MS(1), SWB(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S4S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Cypripedium passerinum var. minganense Victorin
Cypripedium passerinum var. passerinum

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Orchidaceae
Flora North America treatment for Cypripedium passerinum
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-21 7:14:48 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.