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U.S. Forest Service


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.

the spotted lady's slipper.Photo by Mary Stensvold, Chugach National Forest.

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

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.

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Cypripedium guttatum in its habitat. Courtesy of Spangle Creek Labs, Bovey, Minnesota.