IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU)
Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 37 1825.;
ORCHIDACEAE: Lady Slipper Orchids – Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don: Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 37 (1825). Family: ORCHIDACEAE
Distribution: North Pakistan to Himalaya and South Tibet
Current location: Tunganath, Kedarnath WLS, Uttarakhand at around 3600m asl. it seems that this orchid has taken food in excess so belly is soooo fatty!!!!!
anyway nice Catch Actually they are structures that was to trap insects inside it. It is very translucent and hence very bright inside. The insect gets trapped inside and then they are forced to come out from the two holes and while doing so they rub their body on the pollinia as well as stigma.
Its a kind of trapping for pollination. Very Good So pretty mechanism by Nature. Many lady slippers are endangered in the wild… are our indian ones too? ORCHIDACEAE Juss. Fortnight: Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don : Attachments (2). 4 posts by 4 authors.
Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 37 (1825).
Family: ORCHIDACEAE Distribution: North Pakistan to Himalaya and South Tibet Current location: Tunganath, Kedarnath WLS, Uttarakhand at around 3600m asl. Thanks … for Sharing. We tried our best to find this orchid in Tungnath Area in our recent visit ……. But in vain….
Very good pictures.
A ground orchid with creeping rhizome. An interesting fact read from FOP The flowers of Cypripedium belong to the group of “trap” flowers. An insect as it crawls in, can only escape from the slipper-like labellum through a tunnel near the base of the labellum from where it is directed first to the nearby stigma where possible pollinia from another flower on its back are stripped off and while escaping, sticky pollen from the nearby anthers adhere to its back for the pollination of another flower. ORCHIDACEAE Fortnight: Cypripedium cordigerum from Uttarakhand DSR_29 : Attachments (1). 6 posts by 5 authors.
Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don is a very beautiful, though rare, ground orchid in Uttarakhand. It usually grows in timberline ecotone areas and produce largest flowers in all three Cypripedium species found in Uttarakhand.It is also mentioned as “rare” in Indian Red Data Book.Shot near Panwali Kantha area in Tehri district in 1990s with optical camera and copied here.
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