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U.S. Forest Service


The Slipper Orchids

Cypripedium acaule: Moccasin flower, pink lady's slipper

The moccasin flower, or pink lady's slipper, occurs from central and eastern Canada, south across the north central and northeastern United States.

the moccasin flower.Photo by Ottawa National Forest.

Map of the range of Cypripedium acaule in North America.Courtesy of Flora of North America.

Cypripedium acaule has two basal leaves from which emerge the flowering stem carrying a single flower. The pouch is mauve to magenta and has a split in the front instead of the usual round opening.

Cypripedium acaule grows in mixed hardwood coniferous forests of pine and hemlock on rocky/mossy slopes in semi-open or in deep humus and acidic but well-drained soil under birch and other deciduous trees of eastern United States forests.

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Cypripedium acaule in its habitat. Photo by Ottawa National Forest.