The Slipper Orchids
Cypripedium guttatum: Spotted lady's slipper
A circumpolar species, in North America the spotted lady's slipper occurs in Alaska and northern Canada.
Cypripedium guttatum has two clasping leaves and a stem that bears a single flower. The distinctive flower is purplebrown and white. The labellum is pitcher shaped with an out-turned mouth and is magenta-purple with white splotches as are the lateral petals. The dorsal sepal that tilts over the lip is white with a purple border and veined with magenta on its underside.