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Kentucky Ladys Slipper

Cypripedium kentuckiense

Found in sandy ravine bottoms and springhead seeps along small streams. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

34
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 3 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full shade
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
April to May
Fruiting season
June to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 2 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 131 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Cypripedium

  • Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
  • Paralobesia cypripediana
  • Polychrysia morigera
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
7BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Cypripedium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Orchidaceae
Flower color
White, red, yellow or brown
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
August
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “April to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White, red, yellow or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Fruit begins · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Kentucky Moccasin Flower

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankNot available
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources