Cypripedium kentuckiense
Cypripedium kentuckiense
Safety & Hazards
We have no specific reports for this species but, especially during the flowering season, the glandular hairs on the leaves and stems of some N. American members of this genus can cause a rash, similar to poison ivy rash[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. , 407 Title BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database) Publication Author Website http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin. ]. The irritation is usually minor, or only lasts for a few minutes[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ]. We have no specific information for this species, but it has been stated that the roots of at least one member of the genus may cause psychedelic reactions, and large doses may result in giddiness, restlessness, headache, mental excitement and visual hallucinations[ 2170 Title Herbal Medicines. Third Edition Publication Author Barnes J., Anderson L.A. & Phillipson J.D. Publisher Pharmaceutical Press; London Year 2007 ISBN 978 0 85369 623 0 Description Providing mongraphs on 152 medicinal plants with lots of references to allow further research. A very good book, it can be downloaded from the Internet ].
Botanical Description
Cypripedium kentuckiense is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant spreading slowly to form a clump; it produces 3 - 6 leaves on flowering stems that are around 35 - 97cm tall[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for use as a medicine. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens, valued especially for its distinctive flowers. Although distributed over quite a wide area, most populations of Cypripedium kentuckiense are quite small; approximately 100 - 200 occurrences are believed extant, but less than 30 of these may have good viability. The population is severely fragmented and the species and its habitats are under numerous threats especially collection from the wild, overgrazing, deforestation, disturbance by feral hogs, infrastructure development, loss of habitat due to logging, pine agriculture, and reservoir construction which cause a continuing decline of the species across its range and even the destruction of some subpopulations. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2014)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].