BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Cypripedium passerinum
sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper
| Scientific Name: | Cypripedium passerinum Richards. | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | CYPRPAS | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (May 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4S5 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | Sparrow's-egg Lady's-slipper is a perennial with leafy stems reaching up to 35 cm high and arising from slender, creeping rhizomes. The 3-5 broadly lance-shaped leaves reach up to 15 cm long and clasp the stem; the herbage is covered with long, soft hairs and is usually somewhat sticky. The one or two flowers are subtended by a leafy bract which is longer than the inflorescence. The sepals are green and 10-16 mm long, and the upper is longer than the lower two. The petals are white; the lower is pouch-like with purple spots on the inside, and the other two resemble the sepals but are shorter. The erect capsule is ovoid and bears thousands of tiny seeds. | ||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Diagnostic Characteristics: | This species can be distinguished from our other white lady's slipper (C. MONTANUM) by the sepals that are shorter than the slipper-like petal and not wavy or twisted. | ||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: | |||||||||||
| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Global Economic Use: |
OTHER USES/PRODUCTS
Ritualistic |
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| Global Economic Comments: | tselli nadi- firl medicine from root. Root smoked? Love charm(?)- youth carries stem of plant with piece of girl's hair tied around it | ||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Alaska and Yukon to Hudson Bay and Quebec, south to southeast British Columbia, northern Montana, and to the region of Lake Superior. Peripheral. | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | DAP | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Feb 16, 1995 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Arditti, J., J. D. Michaud and P. L. Healey. 1979. Morphometry of orchid seeds. I. PAPHIOPEDILUM and native California and related species of CYPRIPEDIUM. American Journal of Botany 66(10):1128-1137. |
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Catling, P. M. 1983. Autogamy in eastern Canadian Orchidaceae: a review of current knowledge and some new observations. Naturaliste Canada 110:37-53. |
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Hoitsma, T. 1992. Sensitive plant survey, Fortine Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest. Unpublished report. 65 pp. plus appendices. |
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Horn, G. 1980. Report on inventory of threatened or endangered, rare, or sensitive plants-Headwaters Resource Area, Butte District, Bureau of Land Management, Montana. Unpublished report. 54 pp. |
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Keddy, C. J., Keddy, P. A. and R. J. Planck. 1983. An ecological study of Cypripedium passerinum Rich. (sparrow's egg lady-slipper, Orchidaceae) on the north shore of Lake Superior. Canadian Field Naturalist 97(3):268-274. |
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Linden, B. 1980. Aseptic germination of seeds of northern terrestrial orchids. Ann. Bot. Fennici 17:174-182. |
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Shelly, J. S. 1988e. Status review of Cypripedium passerinum. U.S. Forest Service, Region 1, Flathead and Lewis and Clark National Forests. Unpublished report. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 52 pp. |
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St.-Arnaud, M. and D. Barabe. 1989. Comparative analysis of the flower vascularization of some CYPRIPEDIUM species (Orchidaceae). Lindleyana 4(3):146-153. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1995. Species Summary: Cypripedium passerinum. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 13, 2026).