C.
debile is a small plant from Japan. Although the flower is attractive,
it is normally held below the leaves so that it is hardly visible from
above. For the photo, the flower was artificially lifted above the leaves.
The plant in the picture was lab-grown from seed.
C.
fasciculatum is a very rare species from the western U.S. It is classed
as "threatened" by most of the states where it is found. The specimen here
was photographed in Washington State and is holding its flowers higher
than most examples of the species.
This
Chinese species,
C. flavum, is a plant quite similar to C. reginae
from North America except for flower color and cultural requirements.
The
lovely C. formosanum is endemic to northern Taiwan. Note the fan-like
leaves.
C.
froschii is a newly-described species from the Yunnan Province of China.
We had previously misidentified this plant as C. franchetii. We
thank Holger Perner, the author of the new species, for straightening us
out.
C.
kentuckiense is the largest-flowered of all the Cyp species. It was
not properly identified in the scientific literature until 1981. Native
to the southeastern U.S., the species has been grown successfully outdoors
as far north as Vermont.
For
people familiar with C. reginae, comparison demonstrates the size
of the flower of C. kentuckiense.
C.
macranthos or C. macranthum is a highly variable species from
Asia. Varieties are known with pink, red, maroon, yellow, and white flowers.
This particular specimen is from China.
C.
macranthos var. hotei-atsumorianum is a particularly showy form
from Japan.
C.
montanum is a beautiful plant from the mountains of western North America.
Although not common, the plant, fortunately for hikers, is not particularly
rare. It is difficult to grow in a wet climate.