These state ranks do not currently provide any 

 direct legal protection for C. passerinum . 

 However, through its inclusion on the Region 1 

 sensitive plant list, the species has legal 

 protection under U.S. Forest Service agency 

 policies (W. Ruediger, pers. comm.). 



C. DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Cypripedium 

 passerinum is a perennial herb with steins which 

 are mostly about 6-14 inches tall. These occur 

 singly, or more often in clumps of up to 10 or 12 

 stems. The 3-5 leaves are alternately arranged 

 along the stem, and are about 2-8 inches long, and 

 1-3 inches wide. The flowers are pale white in 

 color, and are borne singly or in clusters of two 

 or three at the tops of the stems. The lower 

 petal is a distinctive pouch ("slipper") with an 

 opening in the upper surface. This represents the 

 lip petal, a distinguishing feature of the orchid 

 family. The pouch is speckled on the inside with 

 reddish-purple spots, and averages about h-1 inch 

 long. In Montana, the plants are generally in 

 flower from mid-June to early July. Fruiting 

 occurs from July into early August. See Section 

 V, p. 46, for color photos of plants and habitat. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Terrestrial, pubescent, 

 herbaceous perennial; stems (1) 1.5-3.5 dm. tall, 

 villose, leafy throughout; leaves 3-5, sessile, 

 ovate-lanceolate, 6-20 cm. long, viscid-villose; 

 flowers usually single (occasionally 2-3) , 

 subtended and usually exceeded by a large green 

 bract; sepals green, the upper one broad, rounded 

 to slightly acute, 12-16 (up to 20) mm. long, the 

 lower pair shorter, from united except at the tip 

 to almost distinct (ours) ; petals white, oblong, 

 rounded, and spreading, about 12-16 mm. long; lip 

 obovate, 12-15 (20) mm. long, white with a few 

 deep reddish-purple spots inside; staminodium 

 petaloid and showy, elliptic-cordate, lobed at the 

 base, white with reddish-purple dots, 4-6 mm. 

 long; ovary subsessile, thick; 2N=20 (adapted from 

 Hitchcock et al. 1969; Williams and Williams 

 1983) . 



3. LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: Of the four species of 

 Cypripedium reported for Montana, only two have 

 lip petals that are white: C. montanum and C. 

 passerinum . Although the former species was 

 observed frequently during field surveys in the 

 Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, it is easily 

 distinguished by its long, twisted, brownish- 



