Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum)

 

Photo by Carla Wells

Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum)—photo by Carla Wells

Yellow lady’s slipper is an orchid native to Wisconsin. This one blooms from May to late June. It grows to a height of four to 24 inches. It has a single, inflated yellow petal that is surrounded by two brownish purple petals and two brownish purple sepals. The yellow petal is two to three inches tall. It has basal leaves that grow up to eight inches long. The basal leaves have deep parallel veins. Smaller stem leaves alternate and clasp the stem. It grows in wet, deciduous woodlands, and shady swamps and bogs.

(LS)