Cypripedium californicum

California lady's-slipper

Family: Orchidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

California lady's-slipper is a California native perennial ranked 4.2 by CNPS, found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, western Cascades, northern Sierra Nevada, and northwestern San Francisco Bay area in streambanks, moist slopes, and conifer forests at elevations of 50 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from April to July, this orchid produces distinctive white and green flowers with a white slipper-shaped lip surrounded by green to yellow-green petals and sepals. Growing 8 to 130 centimeters tall with 5 to 12 alternate leaves ranging from elliptic to lanceolate, it forms an open inflorescence with 4 to 20 flowers. Its leaves vary from lower elliptic to upper lanceolate shapes, measuring 5 to 15 centimeters long and positioned alternately along the stem. The plant features a unique white staminode with a green stripe, adding to its delicate and intricate floral structure.

Habitat: Streambanks, moist slopes, fens, partial shade to full sun, mixed-evergreen or conifer forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 50-2200 m

Bioregions: KR, n NCoRO, w CaR, n SN, nw SnFrB

California counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Plumas, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Sonoma, Trinity, Marin, San Francisco, Shasta, Lassen, Nevada, Butte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.