Mexipedium

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Cypripedioideae
Genus: Mexipedium
Species: Mexipedium xerophyticum
Name

Mexipedium V.A.Albert & M.W.Chase, Lindleyana 7: 173. (1992)

monotypic taxon

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Mexipedium - range map

Northern America
Mexico
Mexico Southwest.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Albert, V.A. & Chase, M.W. 1992. Lindleyana 7(3): 173.
Pérez-García, E. A. 2010. El redescubrimiento de Mexipedium xerophyticum (Soto Arenas, Salazar & Hágsater) V.A. Albert & M.W. Chase. Lankesteriana, 9(3): 557-563. Archived from the original on 2015-04-03.
Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (eds.) 1999. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 1: General Introduction, Apostasioideae, Cypripedioideae; page 161 ff., Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-198505-13-2

Links

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2021. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Mexipedium. Accessed: 2021 May 6.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Mexipedium in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 6. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Mexipedium in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 6. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. Mexipedium. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 6. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Mexipedium. Published online. Accessed: 6 May 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Mexipedium. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 6.

Vernacular names
Mexipedium is a monotypic genus of the Orchid family Orchidaceae, subfamily Cypripedioideae, consisting of only one species, Mexipedium xerophyticum. It is also the single genus of tribe Mexipedieae and subtribe Mexipediinae.[1]

Taxonomy and discovery

This species was initially described as Phragmipedium xerophyticum by Soto Arenas, Salazar & Hágsater in 1990, but transferred to its own genus by Albert & Chase in 1992, in part based on results from DNA analysis.[1] The genus Mexipedium is listed as Phragmipedium in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and for other legal purposes. Allied genera include Cypripedium, Paphiopedilum, Selenipedium and Phragmipedium.

Its name is derived from the country of origin Mexico and the Latin pes (“foot”), referring to the slipper-shaped lip. The specific epithet xerophyticum is from the Greek ξηρός (xērós, "dry") and φυτόν (phutón, "plant"), referring to its preference for dry conditions.

Mexipedium xerophyticum is known from a single location in Oaxaca, Mexico. Only seven plants were observed at the time of its discovery. Mexipedium was recently rediscovered in a nearby locality.[2] A small number of plants were removed for propagation in case plant hunters eradicated the wild stock. Plants are now available as propagules.
Description and habitat

This is a lithophytic orchid, growing on cliffs, shielded from the sun, at an elevation of 320 m (1,050 ft).[2] But it grows as well on rocks or in the detritus in crevasses. Its growth form is unusual in that it tends to spread by runners, offset from the parent plant by several centimeters. The silvery-green leaves are small, stiff and semi-erect. The tiny white-pink flowers show a shieldlike, pinkish staminode and a slipper-shaped lip. The curved petals are scythe-shaped. Inflorescences are multifloral and branched.

Plant

Leaves

Flower

References

Albert, V. A.; Chase, M. W. (1992). "Mexipedium: A New Genus of Slipper Orchid (Cypripedioideae: Orchidaceae)" (PDF). Lindleyana. 7 (3): 172–176.[permanent dead link]

Pérez-García, E. A. (2010). "El redescubrimiento de Mexipedium xerophyticum (Soto Arenas, Salazar & Hágsater) V.A. Albert & M.W. Chase". Lankesteriana. 9 (3): 557–563.

Cox, A. V.; Pridgeon, A. M.; Albert, V. A.; Chase, M. W. (1997). "Phylogenetics of the slipper orchids (Cypripedioideae: Orchidaceae): nuclear rDNA ITS sequences". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 208 (3–4): 197–223. doi:10.1007/BF00985442. S2CID 23621128.
Pridgeon, A. M.; Cribb, P. J.; Chase, M. W.; Rasmussen, F. N. (1999). Genera Orchidacearum. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850513-2.