Ram's Head Lady's Slipper

(Cypripedium arietinum)

 

   

 

 

Color photograph: U.S. Forest Service.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum Ait.)

Identification: Flowers pink to red, small (1 to 2 inches long) for the genus. Bottom two petals fused into a globular, hollow pouch, the pouch with a humped, hammerlike appearance, lined with fine, white hairs. Bottom of pouch red, speckled with white, top white. Top and lateral petals, elongate, pointed, brown-red. Stem with 3 to 5 elongate, ovate leaves. Plant 6 to 12 inches in height.

Distribution: Minnesota in the west to Quebec in the east, southward to Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts.

Habitat: Ram's Head Lady's Slipper is found in bogs and damp woods.

Flowering period: May to June.

Similar Species: This uniquely shaped flower is easily identified.

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