In this monograph, distinguished author Phillip Cribb has considered the history, biology, evolution, conservation, cultivation, and classification of the temperate slipper orchids of the genus Cypripedium. Orchidists, particularly those interested in slipper orchids and terrestrial orchids, as well as botanists and woodland and alpine gardeners will appreciate this richly illustrated and highly authoritative volume.Cypripediums, popularly called lady's slippers or moccasin flowers, are the showiest and most sought after hardy orchids, collected and grown by orchid and alpine plant enthusiasts alike. They have been used medicinally in North America and the Far East for centuries, having been grown as far back as 2500 years ago during the time of Confucius in China. Interest in these plants revived in the 19th century when plants from Siberia, North America, and the Himalayas were sent to Europe, where the Industrial Revolution gave people the time and resources to build glass houses in which to grow exotic plants. Slipper orchids, set apart from other orchids by a prominent slipper-shaped lip, have fascinated horticulturists and botanists alike. Their pollination biology was first studied by Charles Darwin. The major source of these plants has been from the wild.

Many of the more accessible species' populations have declined because of over-collection. In Europe and North America, other factors leading to extinction include habitat destruction, particularly logging and agricultural improvement, and drainage of natural habitats. The only British species (also that country's rarest plant) has been reduced in range to a single known locality and, tragically, to a single plant. This clump has survived alone in a protected site in northern England for more than 50 years. In contrast, the lady's slipper was common enough in the area in the 19th century to be collected for table decorations and to be dug up to adorn gardens in the region.