Scientific Names
Cypripedium pubescens |
Cypripedium acaule |
Cypripedium calceolus |
- Cypripedium pubescens L.
- Cypripedium acaule
- Cypripedium calceolus
- Orchidaceae
- Orchid family
Cypripedium pubescens:
American valerian
Bleeding heart
Moccasin flower
Monkey flower
Noah’s ark
Slipper root
Venus shoe
Yellow lady’s slipper
Yellow moccasin flower
Yellows
Cypripedium acaule:
Pink lady’s slipper
Moccasin-flower
American valerian
Cypripedium calceolus:
Large yellow lady’s slipper
American valerian
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The root
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Cypripedium pubescens:
Lady’s slipper is a perennial plant; the fleshy rootstock produces several round, glandular-hairy, leafy stems with alternate, sessile, sheathing, lanceolate leaves which are marked with several nerves. The characteristic flowers, with the lower lip forming an inflated sac suggesting the shape of a moccasin, are golden-yellow and lined with purple. Flowering time is from May to July.
Cypripedium acaule:
Pink lady’s slipper is usually pink, rarely white in some individual plants or populations. It is a perennial, 6-15 inches tall with 2 leaves that are basal. Flowers are strongly veined pouches with deep furrows. Blooms from May to June.
Cypripedium calceolus:
Large yellow lady’s slipper is variable. Mostly it is a hairy perennial, 8-36 inches high. The leaves are broadly lance-shaped; they alternate on the stem. The flowers are yellow, often purple-streaked; blooming May to July.
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Cypripedium pubescens:
Native to the woods and meadows of North America, from Canada southward to North Dakota, Nebraska and Georgia.
Cypripedium acaule:
Found in acid woods from Newfoundland to Georgia; Alabama, Tennessee, to Minnesota. Too rare to harvest.
Cypripedium calceolus:
Found in rich woods, bogs; from Newfoundland to Georgia; Missouri, Kansas, to Minnesota. Too rare to harvest.
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Cypripedium pubescens:
Antispasmodic, diaphoretic, nervine, tonic (no narcotics)
Cypripedium acaule:
Sedative, anti-depressive, nervine (no narcotics)
Cypripedium calceolus:
Sedative, anti-depressive, nervine (no narcotics)
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Cypripedium pubescens:
Volatile oil, volatile acid, tannic and gallic acids, resins, inorganic salts
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This attractive orchid is found in our native woodlands. There are some 50 species that comprise the genus cypripedium, found in Europe, Asia, and North America and as far south as the tropics. There are 11 species found in North America. All species are equally remedial. The roots are believed to have properties very similar to valerian, but with less strength and for this reason sometimes preferred. Like valerian it has no baneful narcotic effects. An old herbal recommends the powdered root in tsp. doses in diluted sugar water or in herbal beverage tisane, such as chamomile flowers, balm tea, lime flowers, etc., as with valerian, the nervine power of lady’s slipper root is increased by combination with other herbs.
Lady’s slipper is also known as nerve root. The medicinal property of the plant was long known by the Native Americans and was a favorite among the empirics of early New England.
Cypripedium pubescens:
Lady’s slipper (C. pubescens) is also called bleeding heart, but the real bleeding heart is named Dicentra spectabilis.
Cypripedium acaule:
Active compounds are not water soluble. The pink lady’s slipper was considered a substitute for the more commonly used yellow lady’s slipper. Orchids often have swollen, ball-shaped tubers, suggesting testicles; these roots are widely regarded as aphrodisiacs.
Cypripedium calceolus:
A related species: C. calceolus var. parvilflora is a smaller plant (to 8 inches high) with a more northerly range. The petals are usually more twisted and burgundy-purple to light brown. It is only slightly hairy compared to its larger relative. Uses are the same as the larger plant.
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Cypripedium pubescens:
A rootstock tea is a good tranquilizer for nervous headaches, general nervousness, low fevers, stomach disorders, epilepsy, tremors, neuralgia, convulsions, insomnia, hysteria, and delirium tremens (DTs). Helpful against cramps and muscle spasms. Taken in large doses, the rootstock may cause hallucinations.
Cypripedium acaule:
Widely used in 19th century America as a sedative for nervous headaches, hysteria, insomnia, nervous irritability, mental depression from sexual abuse, and menstrual irregularities by despondency and PMS. The root has been used as a nerve sedative.
Cypripedium calceolus:
Widely used in 19th century America as a sedative for nervous headaches, hysteria, insomnia, nervous irritability, mental depression from sexual abuse, and menstrual irregularities by despondency and PMS. The root has been used as a nerve sedative.
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The roots should be gathered and carefully cleaned in August or September.
Infusion: steep 5 tbsp. ground rootstock in 1 pint boiling water for 1 hour. Take 1 tbsp. per hour as needed. Or use 1 tsp. rootstock with 1 pint water and take 1 cup per day.
Fluid extract: take 15-25 drops per dose.
Tincture: take 5 to 30 drops, as needed.
Decoction: 3 oz. cut root in 12 oz. cold distilled water; let stand for 2 hours. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes; strain. Liquid boiled again slowly until it is reduced to 1/2 pint. Bottle and store in refrigerator. This preparation will keep no more than 2 to 3 days. For nervousness, take 1 tbsp. in 1 wineglassful of water 3 to 4 times per day. One tbsp. in warm water is taken at bedtime to promote drowsiness. This herb is not habit forming as narcotics would be.
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Harvesting any of the lady’s slipper plants, which are rare orchids, should be strongly discouraged. As an endangered species it should be used with discretion.
Cypripedium pubescens:
Taken in large doses, the rootstock may cause hallucinations.
The fresh plant can cause severe dermatitis after contact.
Cypripedium acaule:
May cause dermatitis.
Cypripedium calceolus:
All lady’s slipper plants may cause dermatitis.
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American Folk Medicine
, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973
The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000
The Herbalist Almanac, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994
The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974
Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973
The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living, by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988).
Old Ways Rediscovered, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988
Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992
The Yoga of Herbs, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.
Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984
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