Cypripedium arietinum
Cypripedium arietinum
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 arietinum is a herbaceous perennial plant with a rhizomatous rootstock, spreading slowly to form a clump; it produces 3 - 4 leaves along each flowering stem, growing 10 - 35cm 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. Cypripedium arietinum has a large distribution area and is abundant in some localities, but most known subpopulations are small. The species is declining on most of the sites due to numerous threats; habitat loss, urbanization, clear-cutting and heavy thinning which allow more sunlight to reach the ground and dry the soil, suppression of natural disturbance regimes, logging practices, climate change, soil compaction, hydrological alterations, drainage and collection for medicinal and horticultural use. The population is, however, not severely fragmented and it is known from a large number of locations. Although neither the number of locations nor the size of the populations fall within any of the thresholds for a threatened category, the species is at high risk as the existing threats for the species and the habitats are most likely to cause the population to decline quickly in the near future if we do not apply various conservation measures. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' 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. ].