''Selenipedium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

family (''Orchidaceae'') (Subfamily ''

Cypripedioideae Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera ''Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium'' and '' Selenipedium''. ...

''). The genus has been given its own

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, Selenipedieae, and

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

, Selenipediinae.Pridgeon, A.M.; Cribb, P.J.; Chase, M.W. & F. N. Rasmussen (1999): Genera Orchidacearum Vol.1, Oxford U. Press. It is abbreviated Sel in trade journals. The name of the genus is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''selen'', which means "

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

", and ''pedium'', which means "slipper" (referring to the pouch). The seed capsules of these Central and South American lady's slipper orchids were formerly used as

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

substitutes, but selenipediums are now rarely cultivated. Partly this is because of the difficulty of doing so, but is probably also due to the relatively small size of the Selenipedium's flower. The wild flower's Amazonian habitat is also under threat, so

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

is a risk for all species of Selenipedium. Accepted species include: * '' Selenipedium aequinoctiale'' Garay —

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

* '' Selenipedium buenaventurae'' (Szlach. & Kolan.) P.J.Cribb * '' Selenipedium chica'' Rchb.f. * '' Selenipedium dodsonii'' P.J.Cribb * '' Selenipedium isabelianum'' Barb.Rodr. —

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

* '' Selenipedium olgae'' Szlach. & Kolan. * '' Selenipedium palmifolium'' (Lindl.) Rchb.f. & Warsz. * '' Selenipedium steyermarkii'' Foldats — Brazil,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

* '' Selenipedium vanillocarpum'' Barb.Rodr. — Brazil Allied genera include ''

Paphiopedilum ''Paphiopedilum'', often called the Venus slipper, is a genus of the lady slipper orchid subfamily '' Cypripedioideae'' of the flowering plant family Orchidaceae. The genus comprises some 80 accepted taxa including several natural hybrids. The ...

'', '' Mexipedium'', ''

Cypripedium ''Cypripedium'' is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy Orchidaceae, orchids; it is one of five genera that together compose the subfamily of lady's slipper orchids (Cypripedioideae). They are widespread across much of the Northern He ...

'' and '' Phragmipedium'' - a genus containing several species formerly known as ''Selenipedium'', such as ''Selenipedium caricinum'' (now '' Phragmipedium caricinum''), and ''Selenipedium laevigatum'' (now '' Paphiopedilum philippinense'').

References

External links

*
Various Selenipedium samples, and the problems of cultivation

Slipper Orchid Discussion Forum
{{Authority control Orchid genera Cypripedioideae