What is "cypripedium"

Cypripedium \Cyp`ri*pe"di*um\ (s?p`r?-p?"d?-?m), n. [NL., fr. Cypris Venus + pes, pedis, foot.] (Bot.) A genus of orchidaceous plants including the lady's slipper. [1913 Webster] ||

n. Any member of the orchid genus (taxlink Cypripedium genus noshow=1).

Cypripedium is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy orchids; it is one of five genera that together compose the subfamily of lady's slipper orchids ( Cypripedioideae). They are widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of Europe (one species), Russia, China, Central Asia, Canada the United States, Mexico, and Central America. They are most commonly known as slipper orchids or lady's slipper orchids; other common names include moccasin flower, camel's foot, squirrel foot, steeple cap, Venus' shoes, and whippoorwill shoe. An abbreviation used in trade journals is "Cyp." The word "Cypripedium" is derived from the Late Latin: Cypris, from , an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and Greek: pedilon, meaning "sandal".

Some species grow in the tundra in Alaska and Siberia, which is an unusually cold habitat for orchids. Other species occur well into tropical areas such as Honduras and Myanmar.

Some of the northern species can withstand extreme cold, growing under the snow and blooming when the snow melts. But, in the wild, some have become rare and close to extinction, due to an ever shrinking natural habitat and over-collection, people prizing the flowers for their beauty. Several species are legally protected in some regions. In the late 20th century, only a single known plant of Cypripedium calceolus survived in Britain.