Cypripedium taibaiense G.H.Zhu & S.C.Chen

Inter species subsectionis Macranthorum flore parvo ad C. yunnanense accedens sed ovario pubescenti, petalis non tortis, staminodio oblongo 1-l.l cm longo, 5- 6 mm lato subduplo longiore quam latiore, sepalo dorsali longiore quam latiore. Terrestrial herb, 13-15(-24) cm tall, with stout rhizome 4-5 cm long and 4-5 mm thick. Stem glabrous, bearing 2-3 sheaths at base and 3-4 leaves well spaced above pointing upward. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, 4.5-11 cm long, 2.8-3.5 cm wide, acuminate or subacute, sheathing and amplexicaul at base, glabrous above, minutely pubescent or glabrescent beneath, ciliate. Inflorescence terminal, 1-flowered; peduncle 3-7(-10) cm long, minutely pubescent; bract narrowly elliptic or narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 6-6.5 cm long, 1.8-2.2 cm broad, acuminate, minutely pubescent on both sides or glabrescent above, ciliate on margins. Pedicel and ovary 1.7-2 cm long, pubescent at least along the ribs; flower 4-4.5 cm across, purple-red; dorsal sepal elliptic-ovate, 2.2-3 cm long, 1.3-1.5 cm wide, acuminate, glabrous; synsepal ovate-elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 2.2-2.8 cm long, 1-1.2 cm wide, bifid at apex, glabrous; petals lanceolate, 2.6-3 cm long, 7-9 mm wide, villose in basal half of adaxial surface; lip deeply pouched, obovate-subglobose, 2.5-3 cm long, 1.5-2 cm broad, pu bescent inside, glabrous outside, with mouth ca. 1.2-1.4 cm across; staminode oblong, 1-1.1 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, longitudinally grooved along the midrib, carinate beneath, mucronate at apex; filaments linear, 3 mm long.

Cypripedium is mainly a temperate genus, consisting of about 45 species (Cribb, 1997) distributed largely in eastern Asia and North America. Over two-thirds of the species, about 32, are found in China (Chen & Xi, 1987; Chen & Tsi, 1998). Some species are of phytogeographic significance, several pairs of vicarious species being disjunctly distributed in eastern Asia and eastern North America (Chen, 1983a).

Inter species subsectionis Macranthorum flore parvo ad C. yunnanense accedens sed ovario pubescenti, petalis non tortis, staminodio oblongo 1-1.1 cm longo, 5- 6 mm lato subduplo longiore quam latiore, sepalo dorsali longiore quam latiore. Terrestrial herb, 13-15(-24) cm tall, with stout rhizome 4-5 cm long and 4-5 mm thick. Stem glabrous, bearing 2-3 sheaths at base and 3-4 leaves well spaced above pointing upward. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, 4.5-11 cm long, 2.8-3.5 cm wide, acuminate or subacute, sheathing and amplexicaul at base, glabrous above, minutely pubescent or glabrescent beneath, ciliate. Inflorescence terminal, 1-flowered; peduncle 3-7(-10) cm long, minutely pubescent; bract narrowly elliptic or narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 6-6.5 cm long, 1.8-2.2 cm broad, acuminate, minutely pubescent on both sides or glabrescent above, ciliate on margins. Pedicel and ovary 1.7-2 cm long, pubescent at least along the ribs; flower 4-4.5 cm across, purple-red; dorsal sepal elliptic-ovate, 2.2-3 cm long, 1.3-1.5 cm wide, acuminate, glabrous; synsepal ovate-elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 2.2-2.8 cm long, 1-1.2 cm wide, bifid at apex, glabrous; petals lanceolate, 2.6-3 cm long, 7-9 mm wide, villose in basal half of adaxial surface; lip deeply pouched, obovate-subglobose, 2.5-3 cm long, 1.5-2 cm broad, pubescent inside, glabrous outside, with mouth ca. 1.2-1.4 cm across; staminode oblong, 1-1.1 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, longitudinally grooved along the midrib, carinate beneath, mucronate at apex; filaments linear, 3 mm long.