P h o t o b y K S N P C S t a f f
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Habitat:
Mesophytic forests on annually inundated floodplains of mid-sized or rarely large streams in sandy alluvium.
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Species Description:
Perennial herb.
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Phenology:
Flowering Period: Mid May to late June.
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Additional Information at NatureServe
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Diagnostic Characteristics:
This is one of the largest terrestrial orchids in the eastern U.S; it is 6-8 dm tall. It can be distinguished by dull yellow(cream) to white lip that is 5-6 cm long. The sepals and lateral petals are greenish-yellow varying to purplish brown. Flowers are large, the upper sepals are 7-8 cm long and the laterals petals 8-9 cm. The leaves are cauline rather than basal as in C. acaule.
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Management:
Avoid changes in moisture/hydrologic conditions at the site. Changes could result from overstory removal, stream/wetland alteration or impacts due to erosion. Exotic pest plants are a threat to this species. Avoid creating access to the site through trail or road construction.
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Global Range:
Cypripedium kentuckiense is found on the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and northern Tennessee; the Tennessee Uplands; the Interior Highlands of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and potentially Missouri; the Piedmont and Gulf/Upper Gulf Coastal Plains of Alabama and the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi (Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory 2001, Al Schotz, pers. comm., 2002). Also occurs disjunctly on the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Virginia and Georgia (Tom Patrick, pers. comm., 2002).
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Known Kentucky Occurrences:
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