Steve and Muffin’s Wildflowers #39.

Hi everyone, welcome back! Today’s wildflower is the “pink lady’s slipper”. It is also called the “pink moccasin flower” and “stemless lady’s slipper”. This is another one of our wild orchids and one of the largest, with flower stalks growing from 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40cm) tall. The flower itself can be from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (3.75 to 6.25cm) long. They produce 2 basal leaves that are from 6 to 9 inches (15 to 22.5cm) long. This is the most common of our large wild orchids, but even this one is getting harder to find all the time. I haven’t seen one for several years now, the pics used here are from some old pics I took years ago. Please do not pick wild orchids, or any wildflowers, take pictures instead so they will remain for others to enjoy. Wild orchids apparently don’t reproduce well, so they need all the help they can get by leaving them alone. Besides, a picture lasts a lot longer than a picked flower anyway. These are native wildflowers that bloom from late May to early July and are most often found under pine trees where the soil is very acidic. But they can also be found in wet places such as swamps and bogs. They seem to prefer partly shaded areas but will also grow in full sun.

I hope you have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2021 Steve McLeod.