Reproductive biology of Cypripedium guttatum Sw. (Orchidaceae, Monocotyledones) at the northern border of its habitat.

The paper presents data on the reproductive biology of Cypripedium guttatum Sw. (Orchidaceae) in the Komi Republic, at the northern border of its habitat. Bees (Lasioglossum calceatum and L. brevicorne) are pollinators of C. guttatum in the region. The pollination efficiency is 21%. C. guttatum seeds are the largest ones among those of other orchid species in the region (1.11×0.22 mm). The size of seeds depends on the growing conditions of mother plants. The seed productivity of C. guttatum is rather high: every fruit contains 5 thousand seeds on the average, and more than 88% of them are of high quality. The seed crop is 2-22.6 thousand seeds per square meter.